


Among the Stars

by NotTasha



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Space Pirates, Space Stations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 18:42:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 51,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3988660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotTasha/pseuds/NotTasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team is searching for Gates to harvest and comes across a space station that was set up to record a supernova.  They expect the station to be unoccupied -- it is not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Part

**Author's Note:**

> SEASON: Third Season - sometime after "Irresistible" but before "McKay and Mrs. Miller"  
> DISCLAIMERS: The characters, Atlantis, etc, all belong to Sony, MGM, Gecko, Showtime, the Sci-Fi Channel.  
> ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Tipper and GateBiscuit. They issued me another challenge, giving me eight spacey pictures. They insisted on a space story! Blame them.  
> NOTE: I'm sorry if the science stuff is off. Remember, this is just for fun, and they FORCED me to write a space story!  
> SPOILERS: Small one for my own Story, Warm and Safe and Dry, and a small one for "Irresistible"  
> DATE: Written October 12, 2006

PART 1: FOOTBALL  
The jumper lowered from the bay just as the football sailed through the interior, whisking over the top of one physicist’s head, and descending perfectly into the awaiting hands of the former runner in the back of the ship.

“Hey!” McKay shouted, irritated as he ducked his head and scrubbed at his hair. “Cut it out! This isn’t the place for that!”

Ronon grinned, and leaned back, and shot the ball back the way it had come. The football arched perfectly, and seemed to hover for a moment over McKay’s tucked-in head before it continued forward. Sheppard captured it from the pilot’s seat, hardly moving from his position. He grinned, realizing that any team in the NFL would be glad to have the Satedan.

“Enough!” McKay shouted. “You can’t be throwing that thing around in here! No monkeyshines in the jumper!”

“Monkeys shine?” Ronon tried, remembering a primate they’d spotted on one of their adventures. Sheppard had used that word to describe the creature. “Shine? Do they… glow?”

“No… no!” McKay shot back. “They do not. Unless… unless of course they’ve been painted with some substance or genetically altered to…” He shook his head sharply, stopping himself. “Just… you shouldn’t be throwing things around in the jumper!”

Ronon shrugged. “Why not?” he asked as the ball came back to him, falling perfectly in the cradle of his arms.

“This!” McKay started, his face turning a bit red as he pointed to his laptop, “Is a crucial piece of equipment programmed with very important information, essential to our mission. If your actions caused any harm to my laptop...”

“It’s shockproof, McKay,” Sheppard responded glibly.

“Which doesn’t give you the right to test that theory!” McKay shot back.

Sheppard shrugged. “Nothing’s going to happen to your laptop.”

Rodney pointed in the direction of the control system. “And this is a highly advanced space vehicle! Created by the Ancients. This is not a place for… fooling around. Do you have any idea of the type of damage you could do if… Ronon!”

But the Satedan had released the ball, but it went awry as Ronon tried to avoid the fuming physicist. Sheppard reached, but the oblong ball bounced off the colonel’s fingers, went a little wonky, and collided with a WANG on the DHD.

“See! See!” McKay struggled out of his seat.

“It’s fine.” Sheppard grabbed the ball as it skittered, and shoved it protectively under his seat.

“You could have damaged the equipment beyond repair,” the scientist squawked as he moved forward to run his hands over the buttons, searching for any sign of injury. “That’s it! Jumper 5 is going back!”

“Nope,” Sheppard returned. “Too late. We’re all set to go.” A voice was buzzing in his ear over the radio as they hung in the gateroom, before the engaged stargate. “We’re not going back.”

“The DHD could be damaged irreparably!” McKay insisted, intently looking for any sign that something had actually been hurt with the mild collision.

“Irreparably?” Sheppard repeated. “Thought you could fix anything?” And he gave McKay a grin.

“Well, yes, I can fix it,” Rodney admitted, “With the proper tools and replacement parts, and sufficient TIME – something I am rarely given. But crystals may have been cracked, or knocked out of alignment. Who knows what damage the two of you have caused! If we’re trying to get back through the Gate with some more annoyed aliens on our tail…”

“We’re just going to check out a gate for the bridge project,” Sheppard grumbled. “And we didn't hit it that hard. You whack the buttons harder when you’re dialing a Gate, especially in you’re in a mood.”

The Canadian’s jaw dropped, his attention finally drifting from the DHD. “I do not!” he shot back and his eyes narrowed as he added, “and what do you mean by ‘mood’?”

“What, you don’t know what ‘mood’ means?” Sheppard asked, his smug smile increasing.

McKay jutted out his jaw in contempt.

Teyla had been doing her best to keep out of the ‘discussion’, but she finally spoke, “Dr. McKay, I believe the DHD is undamaged.”

“Yeah, McKay,” Sheppard agreed, getting settled for the flight. “It just got a little bump. Sit down. We got to get going.”

A voice came over the comm., and Weir asked, “Is there a problem, colonel?”

“Nope,” Sheppard responded, touching the radio with one hand as he easily tossed the football to Ronon with the other.

McKay scowled at the Satedan as Ronon came past him to take a seat up front, and then he went back to jabbing away at his laptop.

Ronon flipped the ball in his hands and then jammed it into a storage compartment at his feet.

“Everything is A-okay,” Sheppard continued over the radio. “We’re ready to go.” He smiled at Weir through the ‘windshield’ of the jumper as she leaned at the balcony railing.

“Safe journey,” Weir told them. “Come home safely,” she added with a warm smile.

With a groan, Sheppard asked his crew, “Why does she have to jinx us like that all the time?”

“Ah, you see!” McKay pointed out. “You’ve already possibly damaged our means of getting back safely. Thank you very much! There’s reason enough to believe this journey is ill-advised.”

Unconsciously, Sheppard ran a hand over the DHD. “It’s fine, McKay.”

“We’ll see.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it!” Sheppard sniped. “I thought you wanted to find a couple more Gates before Lorne or the others completed the quota.”

McKay’s taut face changed a bit at that fact. He looked contemplative and then nodded. “I see your point,” he stated.

“Great. Everyone ready to go? No more fits?”

“Fits? All I was saying is that it isn’t a good idea to horse around on the ship,” McKay explained. He paused as if he meant to leave it at that – but couldn’t help himself. “Because we all know what happens when there’s too much horseplay, don’t we?”

Ronon and Teyla both frowned at the terminology. And, before either could ask, Sheppard groaned and eased the ship forward -- and they disappeared into the blue.

And then… they were in space.

McKay leaned forward, eager to press his point, and instead uttered an astounded, “Oh,” as the jumper cleared the Gate. For a long moment, his quiet exclamation was the only sound heard within the ship.

There was something special about traveling through the Gate, Sheppard realized. Well, to enter an environment that he’d had never seen before was always a surprise. A few years ago he would have laughed at the prospect – but now he was stomping around on foreign worlds on a daily basis.

New worlds, new places were always worthy of a moment of awe. Okay, that wasn’t necessarily true, Sheppard realized. As much as gatetravel should have always inspired him, the planets had begun to have a sameness to them – one desolate city was pretty much the same as the next one – one dirty shack was rather like the other dirty shack – and Ancient ruin looked pretty much like any pile of rocks -- one ferny forest didn’t hold that much significance after he’d been through five or six that looked just like it.

But there was something different about a space gate. Space was pretty cool to begin with, but this particular view was … spectacular. Sheppard held his breath as he gazed out, letting his eyes widen at the sight.

A ringed gas giant loomed before them, filling their windscreen, looking like one of those surreal posters that the science geeks always had tacked up on their walls in college. It was too vivid, too astounding, too goddamn gorgeous to be real.

The planet was all dressed up in swirls of oranges and pale yellows. From their angle, the surrounding ring was delicate and tilted. A series of Earth-sized moons hung around it like remarkable ornaments.

They’d come looking for a Gate to harvest. They'd been through the Ancient's database and this particular Gate seemed like a perfect candidate. There weren’t any human civilizations nearby -- not even a livable world. There’d been conjecture about why the Ancients had bothered to place a Gate here – in the middle of nowhere – but now Sheppard had an idea. Maybe the Ancients had just come here – from time to time – to stare in perfect wonder at the beauty before them.

It reminded Sheppard of a long drive he had taken to the Grand Canyon – all the way wondering when the hell they’d reach the place – and then never wanting to leave once they’d made it there.

And for that reason, it seemed almost a sin to remove this Gate in the middle of nowhere.

The planet and its moons looked illusory, too beautiful to be real, too remarkable to be comprehended, and for a long moment Sheppard and his team just looked upon the sight, unable to utter a sound.

It was McKay who again broke the silence, rattling off the possible composition of the big beautiful world, speaking in an almost dreamlike manner. He talked about the possibility of metallic hydrogen at its core and molecular hydrogen above, probably talked about some other gasses too. He went on about ice particles, silica rock, iron oxide that probably made up the ring. He started speaking about the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism when his voice just sort of faded and the four passengers of the jumper just continued to stare at the remarkable sight.

“Sure looks cool,” Sheppard finally voiced.

“Yeah,” Ronon added.

“It is… lovely,” Teyla confirmed.

“That’s what I was saying,” McKay insisted.

“Let’s check it out,” Sheppard said, not expecting anyone to disagree with him. He brought the jumper around, swinging it closer to one of the planet’s moons. The satellite was cratered, looking rather like Earth’s moon. It’d have to provide an unparalleled view of the gas planet. Nice place to set up a vacation cottage -- a domed city, Sheppard thought as he cruised past. Long as you have enough oxygen, and food… and water.

“What did the Ancestors call this place?” Teyla asked, her eyes large as she watched the remarkable scenes unfolding before her.

McKay frowned and consulted his laptop. “Muskingum,” he responded, flipping one hand and making a face at the sound of the name.

Sheppard shook his head. “Let’s call it Saturn II.” He smiled. “Yeah, I like that better. Or maybe Sheppardonia.”

McKay scowled at that suggestion. “The names for the moons are no better,” McKay went on. “We got Toboso, Moxahala, Rehoboth and Philo.” He sighed. “For such an advanced race, you’d think they’d try a little harder.

“We change them. Hmmm. Got it. Groucho, Chico, Harpo and …” Sheppard started and frowned. “Who’s the other one?”

“What, Zeppo?” McKay responded as they cruised closer to the glorious rings. His gaze left the laptop to take in the close-up view of the fragile looking rings. “Or Gummo?”

“There was a Gummo Marx?” Sheppard questioned.

McKay took a moment to answer, his attention on the planet, and not really paying attention to what Sheppard was asking. He swallowed and answered with a dry, “Yeah. He didn’t made it into ‘Animal Crackers’ or ‘Horse Feathers’ or any of the movies. Was in their Vaudeville act but didn’t like performing. Became an agent or something…”

Ronon looked curiously toward Teyla, and the Athosian just shrugged. She was more used to their incomprehensible conversations than the Satedan was, and had learned when it was best to just 'let it go'.

“Okay, well, we’re not naming anything Gummo,” Sheppard decided, as he guided the jumper around the planet, taking in another moon that seemed all ice. “Unless we find a tiny little moon that doesn’t matter anyway. Maybe we should call the planet Marx World or something. Think that’d fly?”

“Honestly?” McKay stated, “No.”

“It’s not like we’re going to name any of the moons ‘Karl’ or anything.”

“Still, not such a good idea.”

“People have no sense of humor. I mean, all they have to do is…”

And again there was silence as the puddlejumper came around the big creamsicle planet, and the four gazed out at a sight even more incredible than the big ringed world. The ethereal thing had been hidden by the bulk of the gas giant. A cottony shape blossomed in space -- a cloudy apparition, all in reds and pinks and shot through with an intense purple-blue. It looked almost looked alive, unnatural in the vacuum of space.

“Dr. McKay,” Teyla said softly. She glanced toward the astrophysicist and saw a look of rapture on his face. “What is that?” she asked.

“Supernova,” McKay whispered, his voice reverent. 

 

PART 2: ASTRONOMICAL

The jumper came to a stop. “Supernova?” Sheppard responded, his voice alarmed. He felt every muscle tense as he turned to look at the astrophysicist. “I don’t know a whole lot about those things, but I know they’re big and they go BOOM.” McKay didn’t answer, his gaze still on the colorful blot. “McKay?” Sheppard’s voice was sharp.

“What?” McKay returned, annoyed.

“How much time do we have?” he barked out.

“Time?” McKay suddenly realized what Sheppard was getting at. “Eons,” he responded. “This is tens of thousands of years old… but wow. I mean… wow! I … I read about this one in the Ancient database and have wanted to see it up close. And it’s …” he paused, contemplating. “A long way from here,” he decided. “I won’t know the exact distance until I’ve done some research, taken some readings. We are staying here, aren’t we? At least long enough for me to get some work done?”

Sheppard sighed, relieved at that news. He'd seen too many sci-fi movies, he decided. “Sure. Why not? Just as long as this doesn’t take too long. I’m not hanging out here for days.”

“This could take a while.”

“We’re not hanging out here for days!”

“And the nova wouldn’t have gone ‘boom’, by the way because…”

“There’s no sound in space. Yeah, I know … Mr. Astrophysicist. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Well, you needed to be corrected on that point.”

“I got it, McKay. I think we all understand that. Sheesh.”

“It’s all because of bad sci-fi shows,” McKay muttered. “Why do they insist on adding sound effect explosions in space? I mean, they have to go out of their way to add it. And, if they couldn’t help themselves from adding a big ‘boom’, they should just avoid it altogether. Just take the damn explosions OUT and save us all from bad science.”

“Explosions are the best part a movie,” Sheppard shot back. “And, what the heck, I like things that go boom.”

“It drives me crazy!”

“Some people go to the movies to have fun, not to pick them to pieces.”

“What’s that?” Ronon asked, pointing toward the nebulous mass, and managing to cut off the latest argument between his teammates.

“That,” McKay responded, sounding a bit persnickety, “Is the remnants of a supernova. Weren’t you paying attention?”

Furrowing his brow in annoyance, the big Satedan responded, “I know that. I’m asking what THAT is.” And he jabbed his finger toward the nova again.

Sheppard squinted, wondering if he saw some black blot in-between their ship and that supernova. Instantly, the HUD came up, displaying an elongated structure of some sort.

“A space station!” Rodney surmised. He immediately started typing on his laptop. “I think I’ve seen that same structure in the databases somewhere… hang on.”

“Let’s go have a look-see,” Sheppard stated and he guided the jumper closer to the blot. He watched in wonder as the shape grew larger even though the supernova in the background seemed to remain the same size. McKay kept typing, pausing only when a football suddenly thumped into his shoulder.

McKay winced, cringed and whined a little. “Great... Great. That was wonderful,” he groused, scrambling to grasp hold of the ball with one hand as it bounced haphazardly on the floor of the jumper. He never had a chance.

Ronon captured it as it wobbled his way, and secured it beneath his seat. He grinned proudly.

“Juvenile,” McKay mumbled, rubbing his maligned shoulder. “And I’m sure to get a bruise. And then I won’t be able to lift my arm or anything. So when you’re complaining to me about why I’m not toting as much gear as the rest of you, you’ll know why!”

“McKay, you NEVER carry as much gear as the rest of us when we’re on a long mission,” Sheppard told him tiredly as he came nearer the station. It looked oddly like a potted flower. A dome ‘flower’ at the top, a stem leading to a disk shaped section and a ‘pot’ beneath that. Crazy.

“That’s not true. I carry a lot.”

“Hell,” Sheppard went on. “You’re usually getting the rest of us to tote a thing or two of yours. You get the locals involved whenever you can. You turn everyone around you into your own personal sherpa.”

“I carry my fair share,” McKay mumbled. “The important stuff. The vital equipment that should be handled with a gentle touch, that can’t be trusted to those who tend to be a little more… impulsive and erratic with their movements. That stuff weighs a lot!”

“His pack is quite heavy,” Teyla added, remembering the times she’d been pressed into service. 

Sheppard couldn’t deny this fact – but he’d be damned if he let McKay know this. On the everyday missions, McKay probably carried more weight than any of them.

McKay kept typing, then paused, lifting a finger as if to get silence from the others. “I found it!”

“Yeah, what is it?” Sheppard asked as they drew nearer the thing.

“An observation station,” McKay told them as he read through the description, still partially in Ancient. “These were set up when the Ancients wanted to witness something on a galactic scale.” He grinned then, widely. “It was put here to observe the supernova!”

“Yeah,” Sheppard responded. “That’d make sense. The supernova’s pretty enough.”

“No, no… not because it’s pretty. Look, it’s obviously been here for over 10,000 years, probably much longer,” McKay replied quickly. “It was placed here as soon as the Ancients figured the star was in the last stages of its existence. It probably recorded the entire event – what led up to it, the explosion, the aftermath.” 

"No 'boom' though."

"No boom! Definitely, no boom!" McKay spoke faster and faster. “The data contained in that station would be… of incredible value. No one has ever recorded a supernova happening, let alone from start to finish. Do you understand the magnitude of this discovery?”

Sheppard glanced back at the scientist and noted the almost rabid expression. “Down, McKay,” he ordered. “Calm down.”

“We should board that station and download the information that has been recorded,” McKay proclaimed, clutching at his laptop greedily. “The value of this information would be…” he paused and smiled, “… astronomical.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sheppard said tiredly, looking at the station they approached. It loomed just in front of them. The size was still difficult to judge, but it looked as tall as a seven-story building. “We only have the one spacesuit. I’m kinda doubting that it has any life-support so…”

The images on the HUD suddenly changed, illuminating sections of the schematic. “Power!” McKay called, pointing to the lighted bits. “It’s got power! And it looks like life-support is already running!”

“That is unusual, is it not?” Teyla asked. “Life-support should not be active.”

The thought made McKay’s expression drop for a moment, and the screen changed on the HUD again. “No life-signs. It probably turned on the life-support when it sensed our approach. Like a welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Yeah…” Sheppard responded, giving Ronon and then Teyla a careful glance.

“Power,” McKay went on. “Well, of course it should have power, otherwise it would have been affected by the gravity of Marxworld, wouldn’t it. Sure we’re a way’s from it, but it’d only be a matter of a few thousand years and it’d be pulled into the planet. It must be capable of controlling and correcting its positioning.”

Sheppard raised one eyebrow. “You’re thinking… maybe a ZPM?”

With a nod, McKay agreed, “To keep this thing powered and recording for over 10,000 years – it’s gotta be a ZPM keeping that thing going.”

“All right then,” Sheppard concluded. “Let’s check ‘er out!”  
\------------------------

The beauty of the space station became apparent as they drew near it. The upper section was a half sphere, its flat edge attached to the rest of the structure, and the glass-like dome was covered with a web of intricate metal. Beneath it, a series of segments connected it to the wide disk below, all of it overlaid with the same ‘Frank Lloyd Wright’ style geometry that reminded Sheppard of Atlantis. Beneath the disk, the bulb shaped compartment looked like a flower pot.

As the jumper drew closer, McKay told him, “There should be a jumper bay on the central disk.” He glanced up from his computer. “There,” he said, pointing. “That would be the bay door. This structure was designed with these ships in mind so we shouldn’t have any trouble. There’s an atmosphere capable room just waiting for us.”

“Our very own garage,” Sheppard decided.

“Yeah,” McKay answered. “Just got to get the door open.”

“Gotcha,” Sheppard stated, maneuvering the jumper closer to the indicated square. He thought ‘open’ and was disappointed to find nothing had happened. ‘Open’ he thought again. ‘OPEN, dammit!’ and nothing.

“Are you trying to open it?” McKay asked from behind him.

“Yes!”

“I mean, mentally.”

“YES!”

“Oh,” McKay responded and tapped at the keyboard.

“Perhaps it requires an IDC,” Teyla tried.

“Might have to dial it,” Ronon decided looking at the DHD. “Would be too bad if the DHD was broken.”

“It’s not broken!” Sheppard shot back.

“We hope,” McKay said petulantly. “Anyway, it wouldn't require the DHD to open. No, this should open with a mental command. Are you sure you’re thinking about the door and not something else?”

“Do you know what I’m thinking right now?” Sheppard growled as he turned to the scientist and fixed him with a glare.

McKay gave him a tight grin and responded, “It might involve me and certain physically impossible contortions.”

That got a small chuckle out of Sheppard, and then a sigh. “So, how do we get it to open?”

“I don’t know,” McKay grumbled. He glared, through the windshield. “It should have just… opened as we drew closer. It should know we’re right here.”

“Might be blocked,” Ronon surmised. 

“Maybe if you offered a verbal command,” Teyla tried, helpfully.

“Open the pod bay doors, HAL,” Sheppard ordered.

Nothing happened, except that McKay made a little chuckle, and then said in a pleasant monotone, “I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.”

Ronon leaned toward the Athosian and asked, “You ever get the feeling that you’re being left out of a joke?”

“It is most annoying,” Teyla responded, wearily. “And it is rather rude. One must learn to ignore them when they act this way.” She threw McKay an irritated look.

McKay smiled at her, looking a little tickled to have caused this reaction. But he frowned as he returned his attention to the bay that remained stubbornly shut.

Sheppard frowned, and muttered, “What's the problem?”

McKay grinned, nearly glowing with glee, as he said in the same sweet monotone, “I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.”

“Huh?” Sheppard returned.

“No, no,” McKay said animatedly, “You’re supposed to say, ‘What are you talking about, HAL?’ and then I say, ‘This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it’.”

For that, Sheppard gave McKay a disgusted look, and growled, “Nobody knows the rest of the dialogue, McKay."

"I do! Come on..."

"Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“We need to know how to get in there, McKay,” he stressed the name, as if to ensure that the physicist was quite sure that he was only a super genius and not a super genius computer bent on killing everyone. “How do we get in?!”

The HUD changed again, indicating different section of the station. “Ha!” Sheppard declared, pursing his lips with a grin, “You were wrong, Mr. Smartypants.”

“No, I’m right,” McKay reiterated. “THAT is the jumper bay. Why are we leaving the jumper bay?”

“Because it doesn’t want us there.” Sheppard directed the jumper around, lazily circling the station. “It wants us over here.” He came around the far side of the station as McKay tapped at his keyboard.

“That’s just a docking station,” McKay stated, as a shape came into sight on the side of the station. “Oh, a docking station. That’d work.”

“Yeah, street parking,” Sheppard added.

The dock was shaped roughly like the back end of the jumper and Sheppard quickly figured out what he needed to do to hook up. “Funny that you didn’t find this dock yourself,” Sheppard chided. “Maybe you should study those schematics a little closer next time.”

For that, McKay jabbed at his keyboard, muttering, “I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”

When that got an odd look from Sheppard, McKay frowned and stated, “What? So you can quote a line from ‘2001’ and I can’t?”

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” Sheppard said, returning his gaze to the HUD and the station.

“Oh, and let me guess, you can quote nearly every line from ‘Caddyshack’ and probably ‘The Blues Brothers’.”

“And ‘Young Frankenstein,’ because those movies were cool and ‘2001’ was mostly lame.”

“Lame?” McKay sputtered. “It’s just probably the most realistic movie about space travel that has ever been produced!”

“What, all that squiggly light stuff and the floating fetus at the end were realistic?”

“Okay, that, not so much… but…”

“And the dullest part about that movie was that all the ‘space’ scenes had no sound.” He tsked, hearing McKay make a strangling sound. “And seriously, they needed explosions to liven it up.”

“No… wait… come on…”

“Quiet down while I get us docked,” Sheppard stated, amazingly silencing the sputtering scientist. “Let me just sidle up here and see if we can’t get us into that thar space station.”

McKay harrumphed, but offered no further complaints as he pecked at the keyboard. Ronon and Teyla had nothing to say in the matter.

After a bit of finagling, Sheppard brought the ship inline with the dock, backing it into the shape that resembled the rear of the jumper. As he drew close, the station seemed to take over. Something extended from the hatch and latched onto the jumper with a jolt.

For a second or two, the four waited, as if they expected something else to happen, but the ship was still and the jumper automatically shut down. There was a hiss as the jumper equalized its pressure with the station.

“Okay then,” Sheppard responded, standing up and making his way to the rear of the ship. He suited up, pulling on his vest and hefting a P90, checking it over quickly. He watched as Teyla and Ronon did the same, and Rodney shut down his laptop and quickly secured it in his pack.

“Ready?” Rodney asked excitedly. “Come on, let’s check it out.”

“You sure there’s oxygen in there?” Sheppard asked, pointing the muzzle of his weapon toward the jumper’s hatch.

McKay pulled a scanner from his pocket and nodded as he held it out. “Breathable atmosphere, acceptable temperature. You did hear the system match up, didn’t you?” He poked again. “There’s gravity even.” He smiled. “The station rolled out the red carpet and is ready for us.”

“And no life signs?”

“Nothing,” McKay stated as he eyed the life sign detector.

“Yeah,” Sheppard said with a sigh. He nodded to McKay to hit the control for the hatch. “I just don’t want any surprises.”

The hatch sighed as it opened and the four stood, watching and waiting. McKay cringed backward, holding his breath as if he wasn’t entirely sure about the atmosphere’s breathablity, and focused on the life sign detector in his hand.

The empty corridor was revealed beyond the hatch and Rodney let out a surprised gasp, expelling his held air.

“What?” Sheppard asked, realizing already that he was going to regret this.

“There’s nothing on the life sign detector,” McKay stated.

“You already said that,” Ronon told him.

“Nothing! Don’t you get it?” McKay stated sharply. “WE are not even showing up!”

And at those words, two men stepped from either side of the hatch, weapons lifted and ready to fire into the jumper.

PART 3: IRONSPOT  
“Drop your weapons!” the larger of the two men ordered as he came into view.

“Hold it!” Sheppard shouted almost at the same time, aware that Ronon would have mowed the two down in an instant if he hadn’t been commanded otherwise. Behind him, the Satedan growled unhappily and McKay made a sound that was rather like an “eeep!” Teyla remained silent.

“Put ‘em down!” the big man ordered again – he was built rather like Ronon, a little bit shorter, and a little bit broader. He had fine, stringy black hair tied in ponytail, and a rough beard. The other man was skinny and short, all sharp angles, with red curly hair that fuzzed like a halo around his head.

The big one scowled and repeated, “Drop ‘em.”

“You do the same, and we’ll think about it,” Sheppard returned, holding his weapon on the bigger of the pair. John didn’t have to look at the others – he knew they held the same pose, that they had equally divided the targets.

“This is our vessel,” the smaller man said in a reedy voice. “This is our place and we’re not letting you in without a fight!”

“You’re not taking what’s ours,” said the big one.

The two men hadn’t fired, and really didn’t seem to be planning on doing so. Sheppard regarded them. No, they were just protecting their home, the same as he’d do if someone dropped into Atlantis unexpected. Sheppard realized that they were the invaders in this situation.

John lowed his aim, saying, “We’re just travelers. We saw the station and wanted to check it out. We didn’t think anyone was here.” He resisted the urge to throw McKay a disgusted look. No, his attention stayed on the larger man. The muzzle of the P90, although lowered, could quickly be raised again.

“We just want to download some files,” McKay said helpfully from behind him. “And to check out your power source because, if it’s a ZPM, we could be put to use elsewhere, that’s for sure. Because, honestly, we need a back up ready and available, and I’m kind of thinking that the one you have is almost empty anyway, so maybe…”

Ronon hissed out a “McKay!” to warn the scientist to silence. McKay, dutifully, quieted.

The two men looked confused.

“We mean you no harm and our mission is peaceful,” Teyla said sweetly, lowering her weapon as well, “We would like to trade.”

“Trade?” the smaller one said, trying to gaze around the four to see into the jumper. “What d'ya got?”

“We have little of trading value with us at this time,” Teyla continued in her calm and understanding voice. “But we would be willing to return with what is agreed to as an acceptable exchange.”

“You have food?” the redhead asked.

“Some,” Sheppard responded. “Not a whole lot. We can get more if that’s what you’re after.”

Still, the smaller man didn’t react to that news. He seemed intent on looking into the jumper. Sheppard shifted uncomfortably, as if to obscure his view.

“It’s of the Ancestors, isn’t it?” the redhead asked. “Made by ‘em, wasn’t it?”

“The jumper?” McKay returned, jerking his head back toward the rest of the ship. “Oh yeah, the Ancients knew what they’re doing. I know it looks like a flying Winnebago, but it’s fast as anything. I’ve been through every inch of this ship and…”

“McKay!” Sheppard stopped him.

“Yes, yes, shutting up.”

Ronon’s aim never wavered from the bigger of the two men. He locked his gaze on the other, and they regarded each other across the narrow space.

Beside him, Teyla kept her weapon pointed at the smaller man, while McKay haphazardly did the same.

“You know about Ancient technology?” the smaller man asked, his gun falling to his side.

“Rix!” the other man called sharply.

“Listen, Zeno,” he said, nodding toward McKay. “Maybe he could fix the Ironspot. If all they’re looking for is the database, they can have it, right?” He paused, watching Zeno as Zeno kept his gaze on Ronon. “That’d be worth it.”

“And the ZPM!” McKay added. A growl came from Ronon, but Rodney went on, muttering, “We’d at least like to look at the power source for this station.” He glanced to Sheppard, unable to catch his eye. “It would be a good thing to know about, wouldn’t it?”

“We should let them look,” Rix placated Zeno. “If they can fix the ship, we could get out of here.”

This news seemed to sit well with Zeno. “How long would it take?”

With a disgusted huff, McKay explained. “I have no idea. I’ll have to look at this ship before I can give an ETA.”

Zeno crinkled his brow at the unknown acronym, as Rix said quietly, “We could leave this place if he fixes it. We could… go.”

Zeno blinked at that, and then said gruffly to the others, “We’re in charge. You do as we say.”

“As long as you let us get at the database and the power source…” McKay haggled.

“How ‘bout we call it a ‘partnership’?” Sheppard countered. “You have something we want, and apparently we have something you want.” And he nodded toward McKay. “We work out a bargain.”

Rix seemed excited about this prospect, but Zeno regarded them with a narrowed gaze. “You don’t go anywhere in the station without one of us,” Zeno told them. “You play by our rules while you’re here.”

Sheppard flashed them a ‘trust me’ smile, and said, “No problem.”

Rix and Zeno stepped back, letting Sheppard and Teyla through, followed by McKay, who tripped on the entrance to the station, barely catching his balance before stumbling forward. He looked toward Ronon as if expecting a helping hand. None was forthcoming.

Ronon was the last to leave the jumper, keeping careful watch on the two men.

They were in a hallway, curved to match the disc shaped section of the station. The passage was wide enough that two could walk abreast, but the group moved in single file. Rix led the way, with Sheppard just behind him, then Teyla followed by Rodney. Ronon would have preferred to take the last position in the group, but Zeno had other ideas, so the Satedan kept close his team. Zeno hung back, then took up the rear, caging them in.

“I’m Rix, by the way, Rix Mills. The big guy is just ‘Zeno’.”

“Kind of like, Cher?” McKay asked, getting only puzzled looks from everyone except Sheppard.

“I’m Colonel John Sheppard. That’s Teyla Emmagan, Dr. Rodney McKay and Ronon,” Sheppard quickly introduced.

“Ronon Dex,” the Satedan clarified, as if he wanted to ensure that Zeno knew he had more than one name.

“Excellent!” Rix responded. “Just glad to have some new faces around here. Come on, I’ll show you our ship,” Mills stated, as he moved down the hallway. “Then you can see the rest of this place. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.” He glanced over his shoulder and gave Sheppard a grin.

“I bet.”

“We’ve been stuck here forever. We didn’t have much of a chance of getting that ship flying on our own, and could only hope that someone would come by. How’d you get here?”

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Sheppard returned.

“Escaping from the Wraith,” Zeno responded from behind.

“Yeah,” Rix quickly added, “We were evacuating this little crappy planet. I mean, who’d expect the Wraith to show up on that dirt puck, but here they came. People were grabbing up whatever transportation they could get. Me and Zeno ended up with the Ironspot, but it was too late.” They moved through the hallway as Rix spoke, his voice animated. He ran one hand along the wall as he moved, following the curved space.

“Probably was for the best actually, ‘cause the Wraith took out everyone still headed toward the Circle of the Ancestors. We got out after the Wraith left.”

“How’d you manage that,” Ronon asked, his voice low.

Rix smiled. “The Ironspot has a couple of good things going for it. It can hide.”

“Cloaking device?” McKay asked hopefully.

Mills nodded. “Wraith were sitting right on top of us and they never knew it. They can’t see through it, you know. Well, when they finally left, we got out of there and went to one place where we knew the Wraith wouldn’t find us.”

“This station?” McKay asked. “Because they wouldn’t be able to see your lifesigns.” He snapped his fingers. “Makes perfect sense.”

“Would’ve been great if the ship didn’t, you know, breakdown,” Rix went on. “We barely made it here and the thing just tubbered out.”

“Tubbered out?” McKay tried.

“It means that the craft would no longer function,” Teyla translated.

“Oh,” McKay responded. “Well, that was obvious.”

“Left us stuck,” Zeno grumbled.

“Well,” Rix responded, sounding rather blasé about the matter. “Better in a box than under a tree.”

The Athosian and Satedan nodded to the wisdom of these words, while Sheppard shot McKay a look. The Canadian could only shrug in response.

They followed the turned hallway. Ronon kept his hand near his weapon, uncomfortable with Zeno behind him. He walked, with his head half turned, watching the man who watched him with the same intensity.

“And how long have you been here?” Teyla asked.

Rix shrugged. “Longer than an Acruvio night,” he said with a sigh. “Honestly, you kind of lose track of time in here. No day. No night. It all melds together.”

“So, what have you been eating?” McKay asked from his position between Teyla and Ronon. “I mean, you gotta eat.” He walked at a halting pace, pausing to examine the details on the walls. He brought a hand forward, almost touching an ornamentation, but stepping forward as Ronon pressed behind him.

“We had rations, but those ran out after a while. The Ironspot was stocked with plenty of tava meal,” Rix explained. “It was part of a shipment being sent to one of the colonies. We lucked out when we grabbed it.” He raised a humorous expression to his partner, and added, “‘Though I’m pretty sure Zeno would say otherwise.”

“It’s fine, Rix,” the man returned, looking annoyed.

“Gives him gas,” Rix explained to Sheppard in a stage whisper. “He blows up like a Matoo!”

“Enough of that, Rix,” the tone had become darker.

“‘Course, that means I suffer, too, but…” and Rix gave a little shrug.

“What about water?” Sheppard asked, to change the line of conversation.

“Oh!” McKay stepped quicker to input what he knew. “The station is equipped with a waste recirculation system. All water is recycled.” He flipped one hand as if to demonstrate some step in the process. “What goes in, must come out, right? So the ‘out’ liquids are simply recycled. It’s a remarkable procedure that utilizes waste water from throughout the facility, sends it through a filtration and sterilization system which…”

“That’s more that I want to know,” Sheppard cut him off quickly.

“We have the same system… back home… for when …you know, our home isn’t in its usual… ah, aquatic environment and…”

“McKay!” Sheppard shot back.

“Really, didn’t need to know that,” Ronon grumbled.

"Remind me not to drink any tap water here," Sheppard whispered over his shoulder to Teyla.

Rix blinked at them, not really sure what to make of the exchange, and then touched a door. It slid open, to reveal a room. “Here it is!” he announced, gesturing into the space.

He stepped forward, letting the others in. The room was large and open, with a ‘garage door’ at the far wall. In the middle of the room was a strange looking craft, and the colonel furrowed his brow, trying to figure out exactly what it was. It was ugly as hell, with something that looked like a crane tucked up on top, and weird engines on the sides that didn’t quite fit with the rest of it. But in spite of the unpleasant looking bits, there was something familiar about it.

“Hey!” McKay called as he followed. “That’s… that’s…”

Rix smiled, saying, “I know, more haffette than bloxel, huh?”

“What?” McKay shot back.

“He meant…” Teyla paused, searching for the best translation. “…it is a mixture of several things.”

“That’s an understatement,” McKay muttered as he strode toward the thing. “But it’s a jumper, isn’t it?”

“Jumper?” Rix repeated.

“Our ship…” Rodney gestured in the direction of their ship. "We call them 'jumpers'." And he winced a little at that term.

“Ah yes, well it was… once,” Rix responded brightly. “I guess…”

The ship seemed to be pieced together, a hodgepodge of several technologies. The basic shape was a jumper, but here and there other bits were globbed on in a rather haphazard fashion.

It looked as if it had been cut down and reformed at some point. The graceful and practical engines had been sheared off the bottom of the craft and replaced with something that bulged obscenely. There were other strange and bulky protuberances that had been welded to it, resembling tumors.

Sheppard had never considered that the puddlejumper was a ‘beautiful’ ship, but after gazing at the monstrosity before him, he had to admit, the jumper was a sweetheart of a craft.

McKay made his way to the open rear gate of the ship and poked his nose into it, frowning at the mess inside. The original seats had been torn out, and replaced with thick, padded chairs – the rest of the space was open cargo area. There were strange boxes adhered to the ceiling and wires ran along the interior.

"What did you do to it?” Rodney gasped, looking at Rix as if the man had just gutted a living being.

Rix held up his hands. “Oh, it wasn’t me! We found it this way. I’m surprised we were able to fly it at all!”

McKay looked scalded as he stomped around the area. “What is this here? Genii tech? And this bit over here probably came from Hoff. Why would anyone replace Ancient technology these substandard devices? Wraith? Is this section from a Wraith ship? Why would anyone want to do something like that?”

“So people could fly it,” Zeno answered from near the back of the ship, where he stood, watching Ronon. The Satedan remained outside the ship as well as Teyla and Sheppard had moved forward.

“Oh,” McKay said with a nod as he squatted down to look under the ‘dash’. “No ATA gene.” He made a disgusted sound as he saw only more bastardizations of the graceful technology.

Rix squatted down beside him. “But you can fly the ship of the Ancestors?” He glanced first to McKay and then to the others. “You are capable of operating their technology?”

“Well,” McKay returned. “That’s rather obvious. I mean, we did manage to get here, didn’t we?”

“That’s enough, McKay,” Sheppard ordered him.

“That must be something,” Rix said wistfully. “To be able to fly one of these crafts as they were meant to be.” He opened his mouth in a wide smile. “I bet you could activate EVERYTHING on this station!”

“Yes,” McKay said, not even trying to sound humble.

“That must be something… something special.” Rix said, shaking his head in wonderment. “We’ve heard stories of people who are capable of doing this. I thought that maybe it was just flabbet and babbet.”

McKay was too interested in poking about in the Ironspot to pay Rix much attention. “Hmmm,” he said in return.

Not sure what to think of that retort, Rix asked, “Can you fix it?”

“It’s a mess,” McKay told him unhappily. His voice raised in irritation as he stated, “I don’t know how someone managed to get all of this stuff patched together, and I don’t YET understand how it all interacts. I need more time.”

“But you can fix it?” Rix asked excitedly.

“I said, I didn’t know how…”

“He’ll fix it,” Sheppard assured. “Now, what about that database and the power source. Think you can show us those?”

Rix nodded happily and stood, slapping his knees. McKay continued to poke at the underside of the control panel.

“He stays here and gets to work,” Zeno told Sheppard, nodding to McKay’s hunched form.

McKay smiled smugly at them from his position at the control panel. “I’ll work a bit here. You go check out the rest of the station. Let me know what you find.”

“Yeah, fine,” Sheppard replied.

Rix made his way from the cockpit of the cockamamie ship. “Come on. I’ll show you,” he said, indicating Sheppard.

The colonel turned to Ronon, giving him only a look. The Satedan nodded.

McKay went on as he puttered, “Just find the control room. I should be able to tap into the database pretty easily – as long as it’s not in the same shape as this…” and his expression became a dour as he regarded what he was faced with in the ship. “Oh, and the ZPM…”

“Yeah, we’ll check it out,” Sheppard promised.

“We will inform you concerning what we find,” Teyla assured and she stepped from the Ironspot with the colonel, following Rix from the ship.

Ronon remained in place, aware of Sheppard and Teyla following Rix from the room, but his attention was on Zeno – who, in turn, kept close watch on his two charges.

PART 4: FLOWER POT  
“It’s amazing that you found us,” Rix remarked as he left the jumper bay and stopped at a door immediately across from the room. “I mean, it’s not as if we’re near a major planet or something. Why’d you come this way, anyway?” he asked, turning to face them.

“Exploring,” Sheppard responded. “We like exploring.”

“Sounds like we got something in common,” Rix replied, proudly. “My people are explorers.”

“Who are your people?” Teyla asked leadingly as they stood in the hallway. “What is your home planet?”

With a shrug, Rix told her, “We haven’t had a home planet in many generations. We stay on the move and keep the bait on the bunting.”

Sheppard didn’t bother to try to understand the idiom, saying, “Yeah, I bet.”

Rix went on, “We’re always one step ahead of the Wraith. They couldn’t catch us.”

“Until this last time,” Teyla clarified.

“Huh?”

“You said that you and Zeno escaped the Wraith while the others of your group were culled.”

Rix paused before he stated, “Well, I wasn’t with my people at the time. Me and Zeno were trading. It’s so unfortunate what happened to those people.”

“Lucky they had the ship,” Sheppard stated, “And that you were able to fly it.”

He grinned at Sheppard when he said those words. “Yeah. I’m good at that.”

“I see,” Sheppard responded, giving Teyla a look as Rix tapped at a control pad. A door opened, exposing a small room.

“So, you’re exploring,” Rix continued. “Looking for anything in particular?” he asked leadingly as he lingered in the doorway.

Teyla smiled sweetly, stated, “We are looking for neighbors with whom we might trade.”

“Yeah,” Rix responded. “We’re the same. Looking for stuff. We do a lot of that.” And he stepped into a cylindrical room, about seven feet in diameter. “We got to go up the central core,” Mills explained as he grasped onto a ladder and took the first step.

“Up,” Sheppard repeated to Teyla as he entered the small room after Rix. He tilted his head back, finding that the ladder went up about one story to the 'ceiling', and Rix was quickly covering the distance. His thin arms and legs jerked, looking like strange shears snipping away.

When the man reached the top of the ladder, he nodded down to them. “Come on in, John,” he called. “Teyla, you guys got to step all the way in.”

Sheppard glanced to Teyla, who offered a slight shrug, and they stepped fully into the little round room. The door came down behind them with a heavy sigh. Almost instantly Sheppard felt pressure in his ears and glanced about in surprise.

“Sorry,” Rix called down as he pressed a panel. “Should have warned you.”

A door opened beside the ladder where Mills clung, and the pressure was relieved. “Air locks. The central core is full of them. Can’t open the next door unless the others in that section are shut.” He stepped through the opening and peered down at them, waiting. “I think this space station was made in pieces, brought here, and then hooked together with these air locks. You coming?”

Sheppard slung his P90 over his shoulder and responded, “Airlocks? You don’t say?” and started up the ladder. As he clambered up, he was reminded of the water tower near his uncle’s farm. He’d climbed the thing with his cousins one summer and had attempted to find a way in. They’d never made it into the structure, but as his feet clomped on the rungs, Sheppard had a feeling that the inside might have been something like this space.

Teyla watched from below, waiting until Sheppard reached the top before she followed him through the open doorway above. The door snicked down behind her.

They found themselves in another rounded hallway, identical to the one that they’d just left. Rix moved across the hall and activated a door, opening the room directly above the jumper bay. “This is the control center,” he explained as he stepped into the room.

John paused at the entrance, seeing a room filled with control panels, display screens and other whatnot.

Rodney would be thrilled, Sheppard decided. The overhead lights had come on with Rix’s advance into the room, but there was a stale feeling to the space, a stillness, as if no one had been in there for a quite some time.

“Figure this is where the database is,” Rix said helpfully. He ran a hand over one control panel as he walked by it. “We don’t do much on this floor, and haven’t been able to activate anything, but maybe…”

And as Sheppard came near the device, the controls illuminated. Sheppard raised an eyebrow at the change and Rix stepped back in surprise.

“It’s working?” Rix asked, surprised. He came to stand near Sheppard and gaze in wonder at the lit panel. “Look at that! John! You’re amazing! And so it’s true? You ARE of the Ancestors!” He looked at Sheppard with new appreciation.

Sheppard considered what to say, but figured that McKay had already spilled the beans. “Yeah,” he drawled. “Makes a good parlor trick.”

If Rix was confused by the reference, he didn’t show it. “It really kicks the bale, don’t it?” was his response.

Sheppard shrugged, getting used to Rix’s way of speaking. “I’m surprised you guys haven’t cobbled together an interface for this like the one in the ship. You might have been able to send off a distress call, or something.”

Rix laughed. “Aw crackers! Distress call? And let the Wraith know we’re here? No. We had enough food and water to keep us, so we figured we’d wait until some of our people showed up.”

“Oh,” Teyla responded. “You are expecting them?”

With a shrug, Rix told her, “Eventually… I mean, our people know about this place so it’s only a matter of time before someone cruises by, but it’s been quite a while.” He paused, as if troubled, then went on with, “There’s no reason to mess with this stuff and I wouldn’t want to. No telling what we might accidentally shut off.” He walked about the room, his hands behind his back as he stared in wonder at the activated panels.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to shut off life support by accident, would you,” Sheppard decided.

“Exactly,” Rix told him. “It’s all too complicated for me. That’s why it’s so damn good that you all came by here!” He smiled widely and then turned to Teyla. “What about you then? Do you have these powers, too?” His smile was rather sweet.

The Athosian shook her head. “No, my people are not blessed with this ability.”

Sheppard added, offhand, “It’s a gift.”

Rix continued, “So, your ship hasn’t been altered? It is as the Ancestors made it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sheppard replied, not sure of what to make of the inquiries.

“So only those with this gift can fly it?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Sheppard replied. “ ‘Fraid so.”

“Great,” Rix responded, looking away to examine the lit keys. “Do you think Rodney’ll be able to fix ours?”

“He is very good at repairing equipment,” Teyla told them.

“Yeah, he can fix just about anything -- if he wants to,” Sheppard added. “And, if he doesn’t manage it somehow, we can give you a ride somewhere.”

“Oh,” Rix responded, smiling tightly. “Well, let’s wait and see if Rodney fixes the Ironspot. That would be best for everyone.” He moved quickly through the room, seeming distracted by the illuminations. He paused suddenly and asked, “Why do you want to download the database?”

“We are interested in the information regarding the supernova,” Teyla explained.

“Oh?” Mills responded. He puzzled a moment and then asked, “Why? What are you planning to do about it?”

Sheppard shrugged. “Supernovas are pretty cool. McKay wants to study it. He gets excited about stuff like that.”

“Dr. McKay is quite interested in such phenomenon,” Teyla told him.

“Oh, okay,” Rix nodded, thoughtfully stroking his chin. “So… how much do you think it recorded? Do you think it has information only about the supernova? It wouldn’t be interested in anything else, would it?”

Sheppard blinked slowly. “I’m sure that’s what the sensors were concerned with,” he placated.

“Okay, good!” Rix nodded, and rocked back on his heels. “I guess I can show you the next room, okay?”

“Sure,” Sheppard responded. “What the heck?”

“Great! Come on, John, Teyla.” And Rix ducked past them and into the hallway.

Teyla and Sheppard exchanged a look as they paused before leaving the room. His glance carried the warning – watch out for this guy – watch out for this place.

Something just didn’t feel right.  
\----------------------  
Ronon watched from his location just outside the Ironspot, watching as Rodney examined the handiwork inside the ship.

The scientist squeezed into various cubbyholes, having removed his pack and vest to fit. He moved from one panel to the next, his frown deepening with every stop. It was obvious, even to the former runner, that someone had some done some seriously ugly alterations to a jumper.

As McKay muttered, fussing, poking and prodding, Ronon’s attention stayed on Zeno.

He didn’t like the man. He didn’t care for the sneaky-looking little guy either. But, at least, he could understand Zeno. Ronon had seen plenty of people like him – big and mean. The type of guy who preferred to bust heads instead negotiating, who preferred a good weapon in his hand over a brain full of technical knowledge. Blowing things up fixed a lot of problems. Sometimes the easiest way to move from one point to another was to carve a hole straight through the middle. Ronon knew this sort of man well – he was this sort of man.

He watched Zeno, who divided his attention between the Satedan and the Canadian. The two big men said nothing. They just listened to the annoyed sighs and garbled murmurings of the disgusted physicist.

“So…” McKay started, breaking the uneasy quiet. “Anyone try to fix this at all?” He pulled up a panel on the floor to reveal another alteration. he groaned as if in pain, then tugged at a latch, revealing some type of dark tube-shaped area beneath their feet. With a grimace, he shut the hatch and replaced the panel.

Zeno watched his movements without saying a word.

“Hello?” McKay cried. “I asked if anyone has tried to fix this thing?”

“Wouldn’t know how,” Zeno responded darkly.

“Well,” Rodney returned, “I wasn’t really talking about you. The other guy -- did he try to fix this? Did he alter anything?”

Zeno made a grunt, and then commented, “Rix hasn’t changed anything.”

“But you guys managed to fly it here?” McKay was incredulous. “How can you operate a piece of sophisticated equipment without having a clue about how it functions?”

“Rix flew it,” Zeno informed him. “I don’t know how.”

McKay tsked and stated, “Well, big surprise, huh?” He sighed discontentedly, poking still. With a wince, he amended, “Okay, okay, I guess I can understand that. I mean, Sheppard can fly just about anything, but fixing a problem? Not so much. I mean, god forbid if something were to break!”

Neither Ronon nor Zeno responded, glaring at each other over the short space.

Frustrated, McKay continued, “But, come on, someone must have tried to fix this.” He looked up at Zeno, perplexed. “Maybe your little buddy sneaked in here and fiddled a bit while you were doing something else, huh?”

With a shrug, Zeno informed, “Rix isn’t like that.”

“Looks sneaky to me,” McKay uttered.

“He doesn’t do anything unless I tell him. It’s broken. It’s been broken. That’s all I know.”

McKay sat back on his haunches and frowned as he continued his inspection. Ronon watched him, easily seeing the discontent in the scientist’s posture – and finding it strange that McKay hadn’t voiced exactly what was bothering him.

Something was up. There was no doubt about it. The Satedan kept his gaze on Zeno, hoping that Sheppard and Teyla returned soon so that they could get the hell out of here. 

 

PART 5: BABOON HEART   
They followed Rix through the hallway, to find another doorway and another room. Both Teyla and Sheppard recognized the device in the center of the room, and they smiled. Oh, Sheppard thought, this is going to make a certain scientist very happy.

“Our power comes from here,” Rix said, standing near the doorway. “Don’t know how it works exactly, but this is the place.” He gestured to the ZPM unit.

“Yeah, looks like you may be right,” Sheppard returned. He cocked his head as he smelled the air that came from the room. It seemed fresher than the last room. Of course that meant nothing – this room must be kept ventilated due to the power unit. Or maybe, Rix or Zeno had been in this room sometime in the near past. Still, it was a difference from the last place they’d visited.

“You don’t come here often?” Sheppard asked, just to see what the answer would be.

“Nah,” Rix responded, tossing his curly hair. “Why would we? We got nothing to do here.” He turned, almost pressing them from the room. “You want to see something pretty impressive?” he asked.

John looked to Teyla, and stated, “Who wouldn’t?”

“Come on!” and Rix stepped clear of the room, waiting for the door to slide shut before he headed back toward the ladder.

John lingered with Teyla a moment, wishing he understood exactly what was going on with these people. He had the distinct impression that they’d best get the hell out of this place as soon as possible. Something was rotten in Denmark.

And for a moment, Sheppard pondered if Rix knew a similar phrase that was popular in the Pegasus Galaxy.

“Where are you?” Rix queried from somewhere ahead of them. “Teyla? John?” He came back toward them, smiling broadly when he caught sight of them in the curved hallway. He gestured, calling, “Let’s go!”

So they went.

Soon, Rix had them back into the airlock. Teyla and Sheppard needed to descend the ladder, as Rix stayed at the top. Once they were all within the central core, he punched another control. The door to the hallway closed, and the ceiling opened. There were two layers of hatches that opened as one unit, revealing another segment of the central core with the ladder continuing.

“Up!” Rix declared and they climbed up. “You guys are going to love this.”

They traveled through the airlock, closing the double-door behind them before the next set could be opened. And then went through another. When they completed the third segment above the control level Rix paused and looked down on them, grinning. “You ready?” he asked, and without waiting for a response, he opened the panel above, revealing a great black speckled slate instead of yet another white tube.

He chuckled as he climbed up and out, and waited for them. Sheppard stopped and look around in amazement once his head was clear of the airlocks. “Wow,” was all he could get out as he quickly scrambled out.

He offered a hand as Teyla made it to the top of the ladder and they were soon standing on a platform, under a great dome, surrounded by stars.

Neither said anything at first, staring in quiet wonder at the velvety blackness that surrounded them. On one side, the cloudlike supernova highlighted the ‘sky’. In the other direction, the ringed planet ornamented the black. The planet and its moons looked different from this angle, dimmer, more mysterious. The sun was behind them, making the edges of its black moons glow in eclipse.

And all around them, so many stars it seemed impossible to count them.

Sheppard had been among the stars before. They’d seen several spacegates in their travels. He’d been in space. It was always cool… but as he stood, with stars all around, with the strange beauty of the supernova on one side, and the simple elegance of the gas giant on the other, a sense of awe filled him.

Teyla stood beside him. They didn’t look at each other – their attention reserved for the spectacle. This stage to the stars took his breath away. He wanted to stand and stare, he wanted to turn slowly, to see everything, to be silent, to be filled with the incredible sight.

“This is the observation deck,” Rix’s voice cut through the quiet, and he moved about quickly in the domed space. “But I bet you’ve seen stuff like this all the time.” He came to stand beside the control panel in the center of the room, watching them and smiling as if he thought their reactions were rather amusing.

“No, haven’t seen anything like this,” Sheppard admitted. “Not quite.”

“No? Wow… really?” Rix was perplexed. “I kinda thought you’d seen everything.”

“No,” Teyla said softly. “This is very new.”

“Yeah?” Rix continued. “I’ve been here a few times, but it gets a bit boring after a while. I mean, how many times can you see big squishy thing? It never changes.” He gestured to the supernova, shrugging. “I thought you’d like to see it though.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Sheppard said, craning his head to look straight up. He felt giddy and a little lightheaded, understanding how McKay could find such interest in the stars.

John figured he could stay here and stare for hours, for days.

“Okay,” Rix said and he went back to the ladder and began descending.

John and Teyla lingered for a moment longer, their eyes scanning the great dome over their heads, the stars that filled every inch of the ‘sky’.

“Come on!” Rix called. “I want to show you the rest of the place.”

“We’re going to want to check on the others before we see anything else,” Sheppard stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. He touched his radio, and frowned at the static. He glanced to Rix.

“Oh, I know!” he explained. “Only the most basic transmissions work. I mean, we can set off an alarm if necessary, but that's all. I think it has something to do with the whole life-sign blocker thing.”

“We need to check in… now,” Sheppard said, his voice low.

“That’s fine,” Rix responded from below, his voice sounding hollow in tube. “We’ll go back to the others, and then I’ll show you the living quarters and the rest.”

“Fine,” Sheppard returned and started down the ladder with Teyla following.  
\---------------------------

“So?” McKay asked from his crouched position beside one of the Ironspot’s tumor-like additions. “Find out anything?”

“Radios don’t work.”

“Yeah, we figured that out already,” McKay replied.

“Nice.”

“Ronon tried to call to make a report on our progress. Couldn’t reach you.”

“That’s good to know.”

“What did you find that was useful?”

“Looks like they got a ZPM,” Sheppard said calmly, coming to stand just outside the ship, alongside Ronon.

McKay’s reaction was as Sheppard expected – Rodney jumped to his feet, looking ready to burst his buttons. “Excellent!” He wiped his hands on his shirt, surprised to find grease. He frowned at the stain, but was too excited by the prospect that Sheppard had related. “Working? A working ZPM?”

“It does appear to be working,” Teyla told him. “And we have been shown the control room, and the observation deck as well.”

McKay waved a hand, as if to dismiss the last detail. “A control room -- perfect!” he asked, bouncing a little and grabbing his laptop as he made his way to the exit of the jumper-hybrid. "Does it look like I can access the database from the control room?

“How should I know, McKay?” Sheppard responded.

Rodney closed his eyes for a moment, his features seeming to say, ‘I work with imbeciles.’ “Fine!” Rodney bit back. “Can you at least tell me what happened when you entered the room? I mean, did anything light up or beep when you got close to it?”

“The place lit up like a Christmas tree,” Sheppard explained. “Should be ready and waiting for you.”

McKay smiled, and started to make his way off the Ironspot.

“Wait,” Zeno ordered, as he straightened, holding up a hand as if he meant to restrain the scientist from leaving the vehicle. He stopped short of actually touching the man – not letting on whether it was his own design, or a reaction to the protective stance of the Satedan. “Ship’s not fixed yet. You’re supposed to fix it.”

Letting out a disgusted sound, McKay told him, “And I won’t be able to with the materials on hand. I need a new control crystal, and I’m betting that my best chance of finding a replacement for it will be in the control room. So, if you’d excuse me…?” He picked up his pack and gave Zeno a scathing look.

Zeno stepped back far enough to let Rodney pass, but his expressions remained dark and unpleasant, and McKay had to brush past him to get out of the ship. Before Zeno could follow, Ronon pressed in behind McKay, narrowing his gaze at the man and allowing Rodney enough room to get down the ramp and join the others.

Zeno made a sound like a mountain gorilla and let them pass.

Sheppard watched the exchange carefully, and then voiced a congenial “Hey!” He smiled. “I’m going to need a minute to discuss things with my team, if you don’t mind,” he looked to Zeno and Rix, letting them know that this really wasn’t a request.

“Yeah, we’ll…” Rix paused, contemplating. He turned toward the exit and said, “We’ll just get out of your way for a minute and…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll head to the jumper. You can cool your jets here,” Sheppard told Mills with a grin.

“Great!” Mills returned. “Hey, we can have supper when you return. We’ll get the dining hall set up if you’d…You said you had food?”

“Yeah, sure…” Sheppard told him. “We’ll provide the feast. It’s the least we can do, all things considered.”

And for the first time Zeno seemed to smile – if only a little.

With a nod, Sheppard added, “Be back in a minute.” And he turned, quickly stepping through the doorway and into the hall. He was a little surprised that his teammates followed without a complaint.

Nobody spoke as they made their way back into the jumper. They filed in through the dock and met in the forward compartment of their jumper – leaving the rear hatch open, not just as a sign of trust, but also as a means of keeping tabs on the men within the facility.

McKay grumbled as he looked down on his Life Sign Detector, still picking up nothing. “There’s something going with them,” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Ronon agreed.

“And I don’t just mean that they’re getting ready for dinner,” McKay continued.

“They are not to be trusted,” Teyla informed.

“They’re hiding something,” Sheppard added. “Why the hell are they here? I’m getting the distinct impression that they’re not here by accident.”

“They’re lying about the ship,” Rodney told them.

“What? It’s not broken?” Sheppard asked.

“Well, yes, it’s broken. But their explanation for what happened is completely wrong. That ship, in that state, could never function.”

“Hardly looks like it could get off the ground,” Sheppard told him.

“Yeah, it’s a deathtrap,” McKay continued. “But it’s a dead deathtrap. It has no control crystal.”

“Yeah? And?”

“No control crystal means that it’s not going anywhere.”

“The crystal broke,” Sheppard concluded.

“It’s gone,” McKay said, folding his hands over his chest. “There’s an empty space where it should be.”

“Perhaps they removed it in an attempt to repair it,” Teyla tried.

“Zeno says they never touched it,” Ronon put in.

“And I rather doubt that the squirrelly guy knows anything about how the ship works,” McKay told them. “Without the control crystal, the thing just won’t go.”

“It’s a hybrid,” Sheppard mentioned. “They probably figured a way to get around it.”

With an exasperated sigh, McKay stated, “It’s like the heart of the ship, Colonel. Can a human being survive without a heart?”

“Well, yeah,” Sheppard answered. “Don’t people get mechanical devices … and baboon hearts?”

McKay closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose for a moment. “Okay, right, people can live with replacement hearts -- transplants, Jarvik-7 and baboon hearts. Yeah, I get what you're saying. They're still hearts of some kind! So, let’s say that the control crystal is the brain of the ship, because I’m pretty sure that humans can’t survive without a brain, although I have questioned this at times.” And he gave Sheppard a narrow look. “But the control crystal is not really like a brain, it’s really more like a heart, but you ruined that analogy.”

“So sorry,” Sheppard said without remorse.

“Well, just believe me when I say a jumper or jumper-hybrid won’t fly without the control crystal – and the Ironspot doesn’t have one,” McKay tried to summarize. “What that means is, someone removed it from the ship after it arrived here.”

“They purposefully disabled the ship?” Ronon asked.

“Someone did,” McKay said with a sigh. “I kinda doubt it was Rix or Zeno.”

“Someone else?” Sheppard responded.

“Why would they want to trap themselves on this station with nothing but tava meal and recycled pee for water?” McKay inquired rhetorically, and was rather glad that Ronon didn’t try to answer the question. “I’m betting someone took the crystal, and left them here with a ship that won’t work.”

“Do you believe that they are prisoners?” Teyla asked.

“Yeah… kinda…” and McKay paused, trying to rationalize the facts. “But this place wasn’t set up to be a prison. They’re not supposed to be here. I think someone stranded them here.”

“So,” Sheppard said and nodded. “That’d explain why they were so interested in who could fly the jumper. They can’t, so they won’t be able to steal our ship.”

“Unless they kidnap one of us!” McKay responded sharply. He touched his chest, saying, “And I’d be the most likely candidate for that! Because they’d want me around to fix things. Do you think they’re going to try to kidnap me?” He looked frantically from one of his friends to the next. “I really don’t want to be jumperjacked.”

“It’s not going to happen, McKay,” Sheppard assured in a low voice, then he frowned as he looked about in the jumper. “Does Jumper 5 have a control crystal?”

“Of course it does,” McKay responded. “Didn’t you hear my ‘heart’ analogy?”

“Would it be in the same place as the one on their ship?” Sheppard went on.

“Yes, yes, yes,” McKay sounded exasperated. “Their ship is built on a jumper’s base. They just added stuff. The basic operating system is the same.”

“So, if they were able to gain entrance to this ship, would they be able to remove our control crystal and use it for their ship?” Sheppard pressed.

McKay gave him a smug expression. “I doubt they could manage it,” he returned. “Frankly, Zeno seemed more concerned about butting heads with Ronon here. I doubt he paid any attention to what I was doing.”

“He’s right,” Ronon confirmed, trying not to pay attention to the pleased look McKay displayed at this news.

“And Mr. Obvious didn’t give away where the missing crystal was?” Sheppard asked the Satedan.

McKay grumbled unhappily, and Ronon responded, “Nope. He was complaining the whole time he was in that ship. Doubt anyone could figure out where the worst problem was.”

“Good,” Sheppard responded quietly. “At least we got that on our side. They’re not going to take our ship.”

“Why are they not content with the idea of being relocated?” Teyla asked quietly. When Ronon and McKay looked at her curiously, she restated, “We asked if they might want a ride to a planet where they could continue with their lives.”

“And Rix refused…” Sheppard finished. “Seems that all they’re interested in is getting the Ironspot fixed. He seemed pretty concerned about the database, too, and what might have been recorded there.”

“The database!” McKay exclaimed, pulling his laptop from his pack. “I got to get this set up and start the download.” He tapped excitedly at the sides of the laptop, his eyes gleaming.

Ronon didn’t look happy. “We should leave this place,” he proclaimed.

Sheppard let out a breath, looking discontent. “What about the ZPM?” he asked.

Ronon shrugged. “Do we really want to deal with these people?” he asked. “We’re just asking for trouble.”

“Yes,” Teyla responded. “But gaining a ZPM is well worth the effort.”

When Ronon looked unsure, McKay replied with, “The ZPM could mean the difference between life and death for us the next time the Wraith show up. Let me get the download started. The information that they’ve gathered is … well it has to be incredible. Then, we grab the ZPM and all of us go.” He looked at the others, seeing their reluctant expressions. “I mean, whatever these guys are up to, all they seem to want is to have their ship fixed, right?”

Sheppard contemplated it a moment, not liking anything about this situation, but McKay was right about the ZPM. Even a partially depleted power source might be the nudge they needed to keep the shields active in a bombardment. “We’re not leaving the ZPM behind,” Sheppard declared.

“And the database,” McKay added quickly. “We’re not leaving without all the data they’ve collected on the supernova.”

“If push comes to shove, McKay…”

Rodney made a face, looking like a child about to throw a tantrum. “You have no idea of the value of this information! Consider the importance of the find! If I were able to download even a fraction of the…” He paused, trying to draw his thoughts together into something the ‘common person’ could understand. “It’s important data because when a star in our part of the galaxy starts acting wonky, it sure would be nice to know if it’s about to blow us to pieces. If we have this sort of knowledge, it’d go a long way in predicting this sort of thing.”

“Fine! Do the download,” Sheppard grumbled.

McKay smiled, and probably would have bounced around a bit in his glee if he wasn't in the confines of the jumper.

Sheppard asked, “You can fix their ship?”

“Sure, sure, sure,” McKay answered. “I can borrow a couple crystals from the control room and cobble something together. Find something that’ll work as a replacement – a ‘baboon heart’ sort of thing.”

“How long will the download take?”

“An hour – two tops.”

“And the repair?”

“About the same.”

“Then how long to get the ZPM?”

McKay blew out an annoyed breath. “Well, the ZPM unit should have a power buffer. I just have to make sure that the buffer is charged. It should give the station a few hours of juice, more than enough to get back to the jumper and launch it with full life support.”

“And if there is no buffer?”

“We have spacesuit,” McKay responded, jamming a thumb toward the suit's cabinet. “Someone will just have to go in with the environmental suit, and then maybe have to deal with the loss of gravity and… the airlocks might not function… and that sort of nonsense, because whoever does it…”

“And that would be you,” Sheppard told him.

“Yeah, me… big surprise there! Fine, I’ll be the one who shuts down the station and grabs the ZPM after the Ironspot has launched. You know, it’s a good thing we docked here because it’ll be easier to detach from the dock than it would be to leave the pod, considering the possibility of having no power.”

“Thank goodness for small favors.”

“So, before we go too far down that road… if I could check the ZPM,” McKay stated, sounding a little condescending. He jammed the laptop under his arm and popped one hand against his fist.

“Right, go,” Sheppard said with a nod. “Ronon, stay with him. I’m sure one of our hosts will be more than pleased to escort you.”

Ronon made a grumbling sound, but nodded.

“Fine, glad we got that settled. Now, supper.” Sheppard opened a panel to check through their supplies. He thumbed through the MREs, pulling out six packets and then grabbing a few bags of water. These collected, he jammed them into a pouch. He slung the supplies over his shoulder. 

As he started to shut the storage cabinet, he caught sight of the football, still under one of the forward seats. He stepped toward the cockpit, grabbed the ball, and shoved it into the bag with the rest, thinking he could use it to harass McKay during dinner.

Rodney groaned, “Is that really necessary.”

“Hey, it might come in handy,” Sheppard said with a wink. He stood, nodded to the others, and they left the jumper again – this time, locking the hatch behind them.  
\-------------------------  
Ronon watched McKay, wishing he’d hurry as he messed about with wiring his laptop into the space station’s main control panel. McKay would tap a few keys, pause, get a contemplative look, tap a little more, and watch the images that played across the screen. He’d frown, tap again, look annoyed, tap and then slowly smile. He seemed to be satisfied with the outcome – in fact he turned to the Satedan and grinned smugly manner. 

“Download has started,” McKay proclaimed. “I should be able to process the entire database.”

“Good,” Ronon responded. “Sooner you get that done, the better.”

McKay informed him, “I know you don’t care about this sort of thing, but the knowledge contained in this database must be incredible. We’ve only been able to conjecture about what happens in a supernova. This is our first chance to find out everything – minute by minute – year by year – millennia by millennia.”

“Fine,” Ronon replied. “You got it hooked up, so let’s get moving.”

“Wait, wait,” McKay responded as Ronon turned toward the door. “I have to see if I can find the crystals I need to fix the Inkspot.”

“Ironspot,” Zeno corrected from his position near the doorway, then asked “Crystals?” His voice was suspicious as he watched the proceedings.

“Yes, crystals,” McKay said, a little pissily. “You’re missing a necessary organ on your ship and I’m about to make a transplant.”

Zeno looked a little lost as he asked, “And you think we’ve had the right part here all along?”

“Well, not exactly. I mean, you’re missing a specialized crystal, but I should be able to find something here that’d work in a pinch,” Rodney told him, squatting down and ran his fingers along a panel for a few seconds. He dug in his fingernails and managed to find some sort of release that Ronon hadn’t spotted. After a second, he pulled the piece loose.

Ronon smiled as he watched for Zeno’s reaction. Zeno was surprised as McKay revealed the hidden components of the control panel.

The scientist set the panel aside and started to look about inside the space, half crawling into it to get at what he wanted. McKay started making happy little sounds as he worked, plugging his tablet computer into the crystals – pulling one piece out from time to time – putting some back and shoving others into his pack.

The Satedan kept himself positioned between McKay and Zeno, who’d insisted on showing them the room, while Sheppard and Teyla descended to the living quarters on the station with Rix.

He didn’t like this – he didn’t like that they were still at the space station. This was a bad idea. He saw no reason to help these people. They should grab the ZPM and go.

There was no reason to help Rix and Zeno.

In another lifetime, back when he was a runner, he would have shot these two men on sight, and then he would have been free to do whatever he wished, alone, in this complex. It would have been easier. Another lifetime… alone.

“Okay, got it!” McKay announced, standing and jamming another crystal into his pack. I think I got what we need to fix the Ironspot.”

“Get back to the ship then,” Zeno told him, “and fix it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” McKay responded. “But first we should check the ZPM.”

“No,” Zeno proclaimed. “You fix the ship.”

“I don’t think so,” Ronon put in before McKay could open his mouth. He rested his hand near his weapon as he said, “We check the ZPM, like the man says.”

McKay looked between the two and scoffed, “Come on. You’re like a couple of gorillas fighting for who gets to be the silverback. Look, I got to check the ZPM’s buffer. If it needs charging, then I set it up. That way, while the download continues and I fix the problem with the Ironspot, the ZPM can also be charging the power buffer that’ll allow us all to leave safely. See?”

He glanced to the other two, discovering that neither was really listening to him. With a sigh, he added, “I think we’re planning on eating some dinner before we got too far, so let’s do this check and take a break.” He settled a hand on his stomach. “I could eat,” he declared.

Zeno stood stiffly, oozing discontent.

Tired of it, McKay snapped his fingers and ordered, “Let’s get moving! The ZPM room!”

Ronon held a smile as Zeno left the room and shuffled forward, leading them around the curved passageway to the room that held the ZPM. The Satedan kept a careful watch, even as Rodney nearly skipped on the journey.

When the door opened, McKay’s eyes lit up and he stood for a moment in the doorway – just staring within. Zeno, on the other hand, held back. Ronon regarded him with sloe eyes, curious at the man’s reaction. Zeno didn’t want them in this room, he decided. That fact made Ronon all the more willing to enter it.

Rodney nearly pounced on the ZPM module. “It is!” he exclaimed. “It’s a working ZPM!” Ronon wasn’t sure, but McKay might have giggled. “Amazing! If only a lagniappe such as this would drop into my lap at every one of our missions.”

Ronon smiled slightly at Zeno’s annoyed and confused expression.

As McKay frittered around the controls, muttering and mumbling, spouting off stuff that Ronon was probably supposed to retain. The Satedan surveyed the room, wondering at Zeno’s reluctance.

The big man’s gaze glanced toward one wall, and Ronon regarded it surreptitiously. Several boxes had been piled in front of the panels, but the parcels had a staged quality to them – as if they’d been purposefully settled there.

He diverted his gaze before Zeno might catch on, and he waited as McKay finished his work.

PART 6: COUNTRY CAPTAIN

The living quarters for the station were in the ‘flower pot’ bottom of the structure, and it was there that the group gathered. McKay had no desire to take a tour of the crew facilities, and Zeno didn’t feel like leading him about any longer. There was little to see in any case – the mess hall, the ‘head’ with its usual Ancient restroom facilities, and a ‘work out’ room where makeshift exercise equipment had been set up. Teyla, Sheppard and Rix had ended their tour in the ‘barracks’ with its messed up beds and tossed-about clothing.

Rix had been a bit embarrassed of the place when he showed it to Teyla and Sheppard, kicking used garments under the bunks. “Should have done laundry a few days back,” he muttered. “If we knew you were coming, we’d have cleaned a bit.” With a laugh, he explained that they avoided washing the sheets for as long as possible by simply moving to next bunk down in the series of six beds. “It’s like a game of huxey-hoddle,” he’d explained.

It was a good thing that the environmental controls were in full working order because John was fairly sure the place would have stunk without a good filtration system. Teyla’s scrunched up nose had told John that she has suspected the same thing.

The Mess Hall was a fairly large room, obviously meant as a gathering space for the scientists that had worked at the facility. “The Ancients probably made regular visits,” McKay surmised. “To check the systems, to ensure that everything was running correctly. Made minor adjustments, stayed a few days, and then went on their way.”

It made sense, because Sheppard seriously doubted that he’d be able to spend a lot of time on this space station, and it left him feeling a bit sorry for stranded Zeno and Rix.

The tension in the room relaxed considerably when the MREs were brought out.

“That’s food?” Zeno asked suspiciously as he crowded close to get a look at the packets.

“Food?” With a shrug, Sheppard commented, “You can call it that.”

“You have a Beef Ravioli in there?” McKay asked hopefully as he leaned toward the colonel to see what was coming out. Sheppard jerked the packs away from the scientist’s hopeful gaze.

“Dr. McKay,” Teyla calmly remarked, “our hosts should have first choice, don’t you agree?” And she made a little scowl as she saw ‘Country Captain Chicken’ emerge from Sheppard’s bag.

“They won’t know which one’s good. This is all Greek to them,” McKay commented, and then paused as he thought of something. “Try the ‘Veggie Burger’,” he told Rix. “You’ll like that one.” When he noted the name of the top packet, his expression fell a bit. “Oh, there’s a ‘Country Captain’! You should get that one. Be my guest. You’ll like it.” He glared at Sheppard for a moment, saying in an accusing whisper, “I thought they stopped making that one.”

The colonel made a disgruntled sigh. “I figure the folks on the Daedalus bogart the good ones and leave us with these, then no one wants to pack them for missions, so they end up in the jumpers.”

Zeno pawed through the packs that Sheppard had tossed to the table, looking at indecipherable writing with the same greedy expression as a child when first glancing a pile of birthday presents. He picked up one pack and squeezed it experimentally.

Rix looked uncertainly at the packaging. With a conciliatory glance to Zeno, he said softly. “We got to take it easy, you know. Zeno, if we eat so much of a new thing, our guts are going to want to revolt.”

Zeno snatched up a bag labeled ‘Thai Chicken’ and mumbled, “I’ll take my chances.” He sniffed at the metallic packet, longing to find out what was within.

Rix’s wisdom won out in the end. He cooked up a pot of tava meal, augmented with half the ‘Beef Stew’ and part of the ‘Pasta with Vegetables’. Ronon grabbed the ‘Beefsteak with mushrooms’ and Teyla made away with ‘Thai Chicken’ while Sheppard found ‘Beef patty’. McKay, sadly finished up the remains of Rix and Zeno’s half-used meals, raiding the Country Captain for its toaster pastry and mashed potatoes. The entrée remained forlornly on the table.

The water bags were also of great interest to the residents of the space station. Rix slurped down the contents of one packet almost immediately, declaring he’d forgotten what good water tasted like. He grabbed another when he thought no one was looking and secreted it under the table.

The food eased the tensions of the room. Rix and Zeno munched at their weird concoction – Zeno looking contented as he shoved the mixture into his mouth, and poked ' potato sticks' and ' wheat bread snack' after it. Rix was more cautious, but soon got into the spirit of the meal when he discovered the wonders of ‘chocolate sports bar.’

McKay pecked at his meal as he worked on the crystals he’d collected. He frowned at the vegetables mixed into his pasta, pushing them out of the way to get to the noodles. As the others spoke congenially, he tapped at his data tablet, and then held the crystals up to the light, examining them visually, as if he could conjure their exact use.

Well, Sheppard thought, if anyone could figure out those things – just by looking at them – it’d be McKay.

Sheppard and Ronon, finished with supper, started tossing the football back and forth in the big room, quickly gathering the attention of Rix and Zeno, and gaining the annoyance of McKay, who had to duck more than once to avoid a concussion.

A couple of times, he didn’t see the missile in time, and the ball whacked him in the shoulder, or back, or side… to wobble off in a different direction. He’d fume, of course, but the play continued.

Finally, fed up – or finished -- McKay announced that his work was done and that he needed to return to the Ironspot to see if the repair would function properly. Rix quickly volunteered for the job of escort. Sheppard glanced to Teyla, and she went with them.

As they left the room, Zeno picked up the ball and tossed it experimentally to Sheppard, allowing himself a smile.

“What’s it called?” Zeno asked as Sheppard caught the wobbly ball with some effort.

“Football,” the colonel replied.

“It doesn’t look like a foot,” Zeno responded as the ball was tossed back to him. He hefted it in his hands and then glanced to the others. “Are we supposed to use our feet to catch it?”

Sheppard made an attempt to answer, but Ronon cut him off. “Don’t ask too many questions about it,” he told Zeno. “It’ll just confuse you and ruin the game.”   
\--------------------------------------  
Back in the Ironspot, McKay went to work, fussing and poking and experimenting with the equipment. Rix and Teyla made themselves somewhat comfortable sitting in the forward seats as McKay worked.

Rix watched lazily, asking questions, but getting little in response that he could comprehend from McKay. Mills would glance to Teyla, hoping she might provide some insight into what was being said, but her expression told him that she was often just as baffled.

She smiled at Mills, and gave him little encouraging nods when his questioning flagged. It gave him the will to go on.

McKay continued to answer, with a bit more snap with each passing moment, but Rix yawned more often. It was only a matter of time and the man’s first good meal made him drowsy. Soon, he was leaned back in the seat and dozed.

A little tired herself, Teyla stood and stretched and moved closer to where McKay was working.

“Teyla, you’re just in time,” Rodney said brightly at her approach. “I appreciate you staying out of my way until now, by the way,” he said in an attempt to make a compliment.

“Yes,” Teyla responded softly. “I thought it would be best.”

“And you got our ah… host… to finally shut up. Very good of you.”

She smiled slightly at that and said, “I did my best.”

“Well, good… good,” McKay gestured grandly to the crystals. “The work is complete. Have a look.” He stepped back, folding his arms over his chest and bouncing slightly as Teyla stepped forward.

She did her best to examine the set of crystals, finding that it looked exactly like every other bank that she’d seen in the past. She turned toward the physicist and smiled warmly at him. “Well done, Dr. McKay,” she complimented.

He grinned even more, and spoke excitedly, “It required quite a bit of patching and it’s not as clean as it should be.” A finger pointed into the works of the display. “See here, I had to make room for my ‘patch’, so I removed some of the crystals that they’ve already overridden with their own equipment. But see this, this here? This section that looks like it was completed by baboons?” He pointed emphatically to a section that looked rather like every other section. “Let’s just start off by saying, I didn’t do that.”

“That is obvious,” Teyla responded serenely.

“Yes, of course,” McKay replied. “If we had unlimited time, I would make the repair a bit cleaner, but apparently it works, so I’ll leave it as it is. But do you know what they’ve done here?”

“No, I am afraid I do not.”

“Well, if you look here, you’ll see what’s been patched in,” and he pointed to a strange looking protuberance that was hooked into one wall, “I think you might recognize the technology.” And he paused, waiting for Teyla to take a look at the mechanism.

Teyla obligingly stepped closer to the device, feeling that she’d have no chance of recognizing the source of the technology, but as she leaned in, there was no mistaking the ‘fleshy’ looking bit of business. “Wraith.” Teyla stepped back in disgust, as if needing to get away from the thing. “They have had dealings with the Wraith?”

McKay waved away her concern. “They’ve scavenged bits and pieces of technology from everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised to find bits of a Soyuz and the Cassini-Huygens in here.” He paused, cocked his head and amended, “Okay, I would be surprised by that.”

Teyla said nothing, knowing that she’d be better off not questioning the reference.

McKay went on, “And the fascinating thing about this piece of technology?” He tapped it with one of the tools he’d been using. “It’s a shield device.” He nodded and smiled smugly. “They’ve managed to wire a Wraith shield into what used to be a jumper. More effective than that barrier the Wraith put up for us on that desert planet. Very clever.” He glanced to the slumbering Rix and commented softly, “I rather doubt that this brain trust had anything to do with it.”

The magnitude of what McKay stated sunk in. “Being able to add a shield to the jumpers would be very beneficial,” Teyla responded.

“Yes, well yes, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” Rodney said with a nod. “I’m going to have to study all of this a bit more to figure out how they did it. Oh, and they have the ability to fire torpedoes, too.

“Torpedoes?” Teyla tried the word.

“They couldn’t use those squiddy drones because, well, they don’t have the ATA gene to activate them, but they’ve replaced the drone launching system with a pair of torpedo tubes. I discovered them when I went over this earlier, but I’ve just been able to access the systems.” He leaned down and heaved open a compartment in the floor, revealing a tube that ran under the floor. “Seems pretty simple, actually. They just need to load in an explosive and they’re ready to go. They’re fired by pushing that button on the control panel, the mauve one.”

“Mauve,” Teyla tried the word.

“The purplish one, that looks like it was added using duct tape and chewing gum.”

“And how is the device aimed?”

McKay paused, considering. “I think it’s just point and shoot,” he decided.

Teyla looked around the Ironspot apprehensively. “Are there any other weapons present?”

“Nope,” McKay responded quickly. “Not that I’d ever want to rely on such a … simplistic weapons system, but the fact that they were able to integrate it into the jumper is… amazing. Just the knowledge that they were able to do this could prove helpful in the future.”

“That is good news,” Teyla responded, smiling still.

“Yes, of course,” McKay replied, angling his head up slightly. “And, naturally I’ve already committed all of this to memory. I’m a veritable font of knowledge.” He smiled. “Now,” he added. “I want to go check on the ZPM charge and the data download to ensure that we have them running correctly before we run a test on this …” and he patted one wall of the ship, “…monstrosity. It should fire right up.”

Teyla glanced to Rix, finding him sleeping soundly. “That would be wise,” she responded. 

“Yeah, like I was saying. So… we head up to the control room?” he looked to Rix. “You want to wake him?”

She paused a moment, regarding the sleeping man. “I shall remain,” Teyla decided. “It might be best if he does not know that you have completed the repair. It will allow you to perform your inspection without interruption.”

“Yeah, true,” Rodney conceded.

“They seem to be interested only in the repair of this ship. It would be best if we had what we want, before they received what they want.”

“Excellent. Good,” McKay responded, bouncing slightly on his heels. “Okay, I’ll go check.” He turned and made his way off the hybrid jumper. “You sure you’ll be okay here with him.”

Teyla smiled slightly at the sleeping man. “I will have no problems,” she decided.

“Great, okay,” Rodney responded, looking apprehensive about leaving Teyla.

“I will be fine, Rodney,” Teyla assured.

“Of course,” Rodney replied, and he gave her what might have been an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right back.” He offered nodding toward the door.

Teyla smiled as the door activated and he stepped through the opening. Once the door closed, she sighed and returned her attention to the sleeping man, curled tightly on the seat.   
\-------------------------------  
The doorway to the central core didn't give McKay much trouble. He’d seen both Rix and Zeno activate the door, had witnessed the series of buttons pushed, so he only needed to replicate the movements and he was through.

He grumbled as he was met with the ladders again, not caring for the means of moving from one level to another. “Haven’t they ever heard of transporters?” he asked no one as closed the door behind him.

Great! His arm hurt – exactly where Ronon had hit him earlier with the football. “I told them I’d bruise,” he said under his breath. “Great thing to have when I’m is trying to climb a ladder – a big BRUISE on my arm. Not helping matters.”

Muttering unhappily, he clung with one hand to the ladder when he reached the top. He quickly entered the code to open the door to the upper level, and with a whoosh, it opened.

He smiled when he entered the control center, and approached the laptop. Checking the progress, he discovered that the download was complete. He hummed a little as he examined the data, delighted to see the extent of it. Eyes darted back and forth as lines of information scrolled across the screen. Days could be spent just paging through the download, and for a moment he considered staying put and doing exactly that. 

But, remembering his other responsibilities, McKay shrugged and closed down the laptop. 

He frowned, realizing he should have taken his pack with him. It would make toting the laptop much easier. Oh! Especially when he went down that ladder! Well, great… just great.

So, the Ironspot was fixed, the data download complete -- two missions complete – one to go. If the power buffer was now sufficiently charged, they’d all be free to go.

He tucked the laptop under his arm and walked from the control room to the power room. He couldn’t keep the bounce from his step. This little mission would prove to be one of the most profitable they’d ever completed. They would come away with a ZPM, knowledge of how to install shields on their jumpers and… he patted the laptop lovingly… a wealth of information regarding the death of a star.

Already, he was itching to get back to Atlantis so that he could go check it all out.

He opened the room to the power room and stepped inside, smiling blissfully at the ZPM station. The only disappointment was that the buffer wasn’t completely charged. He frowned at the readouts, and then decided it wasn’t going to bother him. Another ten minutes or so would do the trick.

He sat back, prepared to open his laptop and make good use of the time by starting his examination of the data he’d compiled. The astrophysicist in him was straining to study the data, but as he looked around the room, the perfectionist in him took over.

There was something wrong with the far wall. The boxes were completely out of place, but it was more than that. This room was the wrong size. He’s seen the schematics for the station, had known exactly where to find the ZPM room, and he knew that the room should have been twice this size.

Why was the room shortened? It was as if someone had blocked off the back half of this space and created another room.

Rodney set the laptop down on the ZPM station and wandered toward the boxes. He leaned his head one way, and then the other as he examined the wall. Reaching out one hand, he felt along a seam, and grinned. There was a door. Yes, quite possibly a storage space behind it. Perhaps even another ZPM? Excitedly, he pulled out his scanner and tried to get a reading, but the system was still flummoxed by the station’s jamming system.

“Great,” he muttered. “I guess I’ll just have to check and see. And… move the boxes.” He paused, and then looked over his shoulder, wishing he’d brought Teyla and Rix along to help him with this task. “Why did they have to leave these boxes here anyway?” he whined softly. “I mean, really!”

With a grunt, he moved one box, and then another, pushing them clear of the door. “Bet it was Zeno,” he muttered as he worked. “Seems like the sort of thing he’d do,” Rodney grumbled. “If they were planning to put these boxes into the storeroom, they’re total idiots to leave them so that they were BLOCKING the door. Asinine!”

After a couple moments of sweat, Rodney managed to complete the task. Smiling at his accomplishment, Rodney ran his hand around the door, finding a concealed control panel after a moment. The door didn’t open, but that was little hindrance to a mind such as Dr. Rodney McKay’s.

“Here we go,” he said out loud, keying it with the commands. “Let’s see what’s inside you.”

And the door slid open. For a moment, Rodney was startled by a flash of gold – gold, or something like it, glittered from the room. Everything within was gold and silver, like a treasure trove. There were jewels and little Ancient devices, all hastily jammed into boxes and containers and shoved into the space.

His jaw dropped and he was frozen in surprise as he took it in. “What the…” he started, and jumped back as something moved at him from within the hidden room.

“What? Who?” he demanded, his voice getting a bit higher as a woman stepped into the doorway. He stared at her in disbelief – and she stared back with cold dark eyes.

“What are you doing in there?” McKay questioned, and flinched as she lifted a weapon from her side, bringing it to bear on him. 

Rodney raised his hands in surprise and submission as he tried to back away. “Sorry!” he squeaked, not knowing what else to say.

The woman said nothing as he moved away, following his progress with her weapon.

“I didn’t know… I…”

She was compact, dark-skinned, with long black hair that fell in long braids down her back, and a severe face. Silently, she watched him, until Rodney reached the door.

When she spoke, it was a smoky growl. “Stop,” she ordered.

“I didn’t see anything in there,” Rodney tried to convince. “Nothing, I just…” The exit was just behind him, opening as it felt him draw close. “Let’s forget this happened, okay? You can just go back into your little hole and shut the door. I’ll even move the boxes back if you want.”

Her sharp expression didn’t change and the weapon remained pointed at him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Rodney spotted his laptop – filled with information that would make any astrophysicist cry. He made a grab for it, unwilling to leave it behind. His hands clasped tight and he drew it to him.

He didn’t hear the shot. It was like a punch to his side, and he stumbled, spinning into the doorframe and falling even as he grasped the laptop to his chest.


	2. Second Part

PART 7: GAMES  
Rodney tottered, staggering through the doorway and into the hall outside. He dropped the laptop to slap a hand against the control panel, shutting the door. Almost without conscious thought, he grabbed at the panel, pulling loose its covering and yanking one of the crystals from within.

What the hell was that? What was that woman doing?

He fell on his butt, his back to the wall and stared at the crystal in his hand. For a moment, he just panted, looking in disbelief at the way his bloodied fingers left prints on the transparent surface.

So strange, he thought, so very strange.

God, his side hurt. He sucked in a breath. Oh God… He closed his eyes tightly, trying to overcome the horrible ache as he pressed one hand to the wound. Crap! Crap crap crappy crap!

Without looking, he dropped the crystal to the floor and activated his radio. “Colonel Sheppard? Teyla! Ronon!” He opened his eyes and gazed longingly down the hallway, expecting to see Sheppard and Teyla and Ronon. He wanted to see them running toward him – but no one came. The hallway remained empty and quiet. No one returned his call.

“Colonel?” he tried again.

Oh God, this hurts. What sort of twisted game is she playing? What the hell is she doing in that … treasure room?

A collision on the other side of the door broke him from his reverie. He picked up the laptop one-handedly, almost surprised that he still had it. His other hand stayed clutching at his side, as if it could take away the pain that burned there.

Please…

He blinked, trying to sort things out. She’s not going to get through that door, Rodney reasoned. She’s not! But he could hear her, fiddling with the controls on the other side, and he felt a coldness fill him. He shuddered, honestly chilled. If she knew what she was doing, she’d figure out a way to get that door open – only a matter of time.

“Come on, guys,” he whined into the radio. “I need help… I need someone…”

And nothing.

The radio wasn’t working, so he shouted, “Teyla! ”

She was so close – so close -- just one floor beneath him.

Oh God, he was bleeding… bleeding a lot. He looked down at his side in disbelief.

The woman from the room continued to work at the door. He could hear her efforts, listened to her voice, thick with a stream of curses.

McKay pushed himself onto one knee. Oh God… oh God, his side was on fire. He grasped at fabric and flesh with one hand, feeling the pain only increase as he wobbled to his feet. Staggering, he started forward, pressing one shoulder to the wall to keep his balance. He felt lightheaded and strange as he moved.

Glancing down to his side, he scolded himself, “Haven’t lost that much blood. You’re being a big baby. Beckett takes more blood from you when he’s running his damn tests.”

No… no… this is a lot of blood. Oh God, this is bad.

He tried to ignore that he was painting a stripe along the wall.

He kept staggering, trying to keep upright as his side screamed at him. He’d go to Teyla, he figured.

Teyla would help him.

Teyla would help. Oh God…

Stumbling and staggering, he finally caught sight of the doorway to the central core.

I’m not going to make it.

You will, you will make it! Think of it as a game. Just one step. Keep going.

Okay, one step… and one step… and one step… yes… yes… made it.

He smiled in triumph, leaning heavily on the wall, as he fussed at the door panel. After a few hastily entered commands, he opened it. The door whooshed open, and he furrowed his brow at the red smudges he left behind on the control pad. He forced himself to the opening and grimaced at the sight – a one-story drop to the next level. There was nothing to do, except step out onto the ladder.

Great… just great.

He had no choice. He had to find Teyla. He had to get help. She was so close. He only had to go down one floor, right?

He eased his way out, putting one foot onto the nearest rung, jamming his laptop under the arm that clung to the wound. Grasping hold of a rung with his free arm, he brought his other leg out and he was on the ladder. This’d be easy, right?

He looked downward at the distance he had to descend.

Easy. Easy as pie.

Pie’s not easy to make though. Someone makes it wrong once and ruins it forever for others. And there was always some wiseacre who thought lemon meringue was a good idea. Pi is easy too, but not for everyone. He tried not to let his mind drift and recall that Pi rhymed with a certain word.

He gulped uncertainly and closed his eyes a moment.

No time for this, he reminded himself. He had to ensure that that woman couldn’t follow him. He had to get help! Leaning into the ladder, he worked on the control panel one handedly. So stupid that he wasn’t wearing his pack. There was no convenient place to store the computer and the ladder rungs weren’t wide enough to support it if he were to jam it in there.

He shut the door with a quick clattering of keystrokes, and then pried open the panel. Just have to rewire this, reprogram, figure out a way to lock her on that side of the door.

He panted as he worked, easing out one crystal. His hand felt sticky and strange, and he fumbled the piece as it came clear. It fell, and landed with a melodic little clink below.

The airlock above him started to open. Surprised, McKay looked up, his mouth open in disbelief. Another segment of the inner core yawned above him as the doubled doors fully opened.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. He turned his head and looked downward despondently at the crystal he’d removed. Damn… damn, damn. In his attempt to disable the hallway door, he’d managed to trigger open the airlock to the next section.

He tried to shut the hatch, but the unit was already disabled. The crystal was one floor beneath him. Great!

He could climb down, retrieve the dropped crystal, put it back in place so that he could shut the airlock above him – disable the control panel again (without opening the airlock above) and climb back down.

He was so screwed.

He pecked at the keypad, trying to get it to accept the command to close the airlock above. “Come on,” he muttered. “Come on already. Don’t do this to me. You really don’t need to do this to me!”

Pie... stupid pie. Nothing is easy.

The keypad made discontented little oinks and the doors remained in their positions.

“Great! Just great!” McKay groused, resting his head against the rail.

Now what?

He was in no state for climbing up and down stupid ladders! He took assessment of himself, releasing his hold on his side for a moment, gasping at the blood that oozed.

Damn it! He cringed as if he could get away from it. God, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch! He really didn’t think he could get down the ladder without losing the laptop. Why didn’t he bring his pack?!

With a groan, he leaned against the ladder, touched his radio and tried again. “Colonel? Ronon? Teyla? Respond. Please respond. Man down. Please,” he called. He waited a moment, thinking that maybe they were just taking their time. “I could really use some help here. No kidding, okay?”

But only the sizzling sound of a jammed signal was returned.

“TEYLA!” His voice echoed back at him in the space. Pressing his head against the cool ladder he waited, listening, hoping he’d hear her return his cry from below. “TEYLA!”

And nothing. Nothing. He grimaced, straining his ears and wondering if his heartbeat really was audible.

“Teyla,” he whispered. “Please…” He held onto the ladder with one hand as the other pressed against the wound, while his elbow trapped the computer. His waited, hoping to hear Teyla’s voice.

And he was answered, but by a clatter just beside his head. In a panic, he stared at the door at his level. Someone was right outside. The dark-haired woman had made it through the first door!

With a groan, he looked upward. It was his only choice really. He could close the airlock once he was above it, he knew that much.

But how could he be expected to climb?

He stepped up one rung, and then another, going as far as he could on his ladder, keeping one arm close to his side, in an attempt to keep hold of his laptop and his blood.

Damn, Damn. This sucks. This really sucks!

There was a gap in the ladders where the airlocks closed. He gazed up at the breach, knowing that he’d have to stretch to reach the next bit, and pull himself up a little. He gulped. This would not be easy.

“When have McKays chosen the easy route?” he whispered to himself. “Okay then, just move to the next level. It’s like a video game, right? Not so hard.”

He tried, he honestly tried, reaching his free arm, as he held the other tightly to him. His fingers grabbed the rung, but now he needed to pull himself up. Releasing his side, took hold of the laptop, and reached, lifting the computer over his head as he tried to also grab hold of the next ladder.

He was pathetic.

He couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t hold onto the laptop and get to the next ladder.

Damn.

If Ronon hadn’t hit him in the arm with the football, MAYBE he would be able to do this.

He glanced down to the doorway where the dark-haired woman was still fiddling about. If she got through the door…

Damn. Oh damn…

With a sigh, he held the bloodied computer to his chest, thinking of the wealth of data currently stored on it. This was the stuff of dreams!

He hugged the laptop, for a moment longer, wondering exactly how shock resistant the thing was. He was a full story off the ground – that was a long drop.

With a morose sigh, he pulled the laptop from the protection of his chest, and grasping it with one hand, let the arm fall to his side. So much data was collected here. People – people like him -- would pay any price to get their hands on it.

He had to climb. He had to keep going. He had to let loose of his deadweight. He couldn’t let her win this one.

He let the computer slide, slowly, through his fingers as he stifled a sob. 

It was a dream to have this data... but he'd had to let go of so many dreams in his life.

One moment he had hold of it, his fingers tacky and trying to stick to the surface, and the next moment – he’d let it go.

The laptop landed beneath him with a heartrending BANG and a clatter.

He couldn’t look down at it. He couldn’t bear to see if the construction held tight or if the circuits were now spread across the lower airlock.

He reached upward, grabbing the rung and pulling himself up, gasping in pain as the muscles at his torso pulled.

“Oh! Oh! Oh God… oh God! This is so unfair! This is so unfair!” he yelled as he scrambled, pulling himself up and settling his feet onto the upper rungs as quickly as possible. "Injured parties should NOT be forced to... ugh!"

He reached the next control panel and he entered the command to shut the airlock behind him. It sighed closed just beneath his feet.

For a moment, he rested. Tears and sweat ran down his face, and he swiped at them, awkwardly, with the back of his hand. He regarded the panel, wondering what to do next, how to lock out the woman who seemed bent on killing him.

How do I lock it so that no one can get through?

But then Sheppard and the rest won’t be able to come after me if I lock down this door, he reasoned. Because they will come. I need their help – I need them.

But that harpy will only be able to follow me all the sooner if the door isn’t disabled! She got through the first door...and once I close this one...

He contemplated a moment, pressing a hand to the hole in his side, grimacing against the pain and the puzzle. Finally, with a frown, pulling the cover off the keypad, and moving one crystal out of the way – holding it in his teeth as he fiddled with another. It only took a few seconds, but he was already weary of the work. He replaced the first crystal in its new position and slapped the panel back in place – the airlock beneath him would slow her down, no doubt, but it would open for her – eventually.

That was the genius of his plan. The airlock would open, once, and then shut -- never to open again – not without his help -- and not for Sheppard and the others.

It felt a little like losing, a little like giving up on his friends. He was essentially trapping himself along with the woman, but he had to keep ahead of her -- he had to keep her from getting any further – and he had to restrict her from going downward too – because for her to go down through the central core where she’d meet up with Teyla – or Sheppard and Ronon.

He couldn’t stand the fact that she’d surprise them and it’d be all his fault if anything happened.

He had to go up, and he strained forward, grasping his side with one hand. Using his elbow for leverage, he climbed.  
\----------------------------------  
Teyla stood and walked around in the confined space of the Ironspot. Rix still dozed on the bench, and Teyla hoped that McKay would return shortly. She didn’t like this.

Something felt strange – something wasn’t right, and now she worried about her decision to remain here to watch Rix while Rodney went off by himself.

But everything would be fine. Sheppard and Ronon had their eyes on Zeno. She was watching Rix. What trouble could McKay get into?

And she grimaced at that thought.

She should have gone with him. She should have awakened Rix and dragged him along, even though the man would have slowed their progress, asked questions, demanded answers regarding the work on the Ironspot. They should have gone together.

She blew out a breath. With any luck, Rodney would be back before Mills even knew he had gone. All things considered, it would probably be for the best if the residents of this space station didn’t know that one of their guests was now wandering alone through the facility. It would allow McKay to complete his task and return quickly.

She stretched and waited. If everything went well, they’d be able to leave in a matter of a few moments. The Ironspot was repaired -- she had no doubts about Dr. McKay's work. If the download was complete and the buffer charged, then they could go.

Realizing that the others would like to know their status, she tried her radio again, hoping for the interference to be resolved. “Colonel Sheppard. Ronon.” She frowned at the feedback that was returned to her. No luck. It unnerved her, and she glanced upward, realizing that Rodney was alone.

She felt something – a strange unsettled feeling. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

A frown creased her forehead as she realized she might have made a mistake.

A sudden beeping filled the air – only audible because there was no other sound to hamper it. She spun around, seeing Rix shoot upright.

He grasped at something in his collar and looked about wildly. He caught Teyla’s eyes and kept scanning. He frowned as he realized that she was the only person with him.

“Where is Rodney?” he questioned.

Teyla watched him, guardedly. “He has gone to check on the status of the download,” she responded truthfully.

With a groan, Rix scrambled to his feet. “Alone? He went there alone?”

Teyla felt her heart sink. “What has happened?” she asked, trying to not let her thoughts run to the thousand different troubles McKay might have found.

“Zeno went with him?” Rix cried. “Right? Zeno escorted him?” He jumped to his feet. “No, no, because then those other two would be here. Crackers! You weren’t supposed to go up there alone! He was just supposed to fix the ship and you could get the stuff you wanted. Why didn’t you stick to that?”

The wiry man rushed out of the Ironspot. He came to a sudden stop, looking about as if hoping to find McKay still in the room. Looking more sad than upset, Rix asked, “You don’t think he’d touch anything, do you? He wouldn’t try to open things that… that weren’t supposed to be opened?”

Teyla said nothing, but her expression explained it all. Rix keyed open the door and rushed from the room with Teyla right behind him.  
\------------------------------------------  
The three men relaxed in the mess hall, easily hefting the football, one to another. There was little to say. Sheppard at times tried to open a conversation, but neither Zeno nor Ronon seemed open to speaking. So the football went around, and around again.

The colonel wasn’t sure if he should be relaxed by the quiet, or put on edge by it. Ronon kept his steely gaze on Zeno, as Zeno watched them both. With some sense of jealousy, Sheppard noted that the big man paid more attention to Ronon, offering Sheppard only a momentary examination from time to time.

Hell, Sheppard thought, I'm not harmless.

They tossed the ball, getting a solid SMACK with each reception. Gone was the laidback feeling that had existed while they had Rodney for a target. They threw the ball like they meant it.

WHACK, it was in John’s hands again. Sheppard nodded to Ronon as he passed it off to Zeno. The big man caught it without any effort and shot it at Ronon, who caught it with equal ease, and jetted it back to Zeno.

Zeno rocketed the pigskin back to Ronon, hitting him hard in the numbers. Ronon deployed it with enough force to flatten most men.

WHAP and BANG, the ball went back and forth between the two until Sheppard cleared his throat, and Ronon, almost reluctantly, sent the ball in his direction.

“Thanks,” Sheppard offered, and without looking at him, flung the ball toward Zeno.

Zeno needed to reach to catch it, giving Sheppard a disgusted grunt as he made contact with the ball, and without much of a pause, sent it back to Ronon hard enough to down a gorilla.

Of course, Ronon caught the ball without much trouble and propelled back to Zeno with the same power used by a grenade launcher.

Sheppard had to admit that he was rather glad that he hadn’t revealed to Zeno the whole ‘tackling’ and ‘blocking’ and ‘sacking’ possibilities that came with the game. Ronon, undoubtedly, was contemplating it.

Zeno suddenly stiffened, and touched a button at his collar. A quiet but insistent alarm was silenced. He turned stiffly and made his way through the door without a word.

Sheppard paused a moment to look to Ronon, but the Satedan was already on Zeno’s tail and the three men wordlessly hurried out of the room, heading toward the central core.

PART 8: AIRLOCK  
“What the hell?” McKay gasped as he climbed. “What the hell was that all about?” He groaned, using his elbow to leverage him upward. "OW!"

“Why’d she have to shoot me?” he squabbled to the walls around him. “Why? Because I discovered their stash, their cache, their … booty?” he spat out the word.

“Booty?” he repeated, as if he couldn’t believe he’d thought of that particular word. “What’s this supposed to mean? They’re pirates, and they stashed her in that room as soon as they saw us coming. Stuck her in there to guard the loot while Frick and Frack distracted us? Oh, don’t tell me we dealing with pirates!”

He closed his eyes a moment, leaning heavily on the ladder. Hadn’t Teyla told them about pirates once, long gone? Damn it, what had she called them? Boca Grandes or something like that?

Yes, back during that horrible time when he’d been trapped on the planet of a thousand mosses, the others had discovered a cache of gold, jewels, crystals and bits of Ancient tech – just like the concoction he’d glimpsed in that room. Boca Ratons? Bog people?

“Great! Just great! I’m in another GALAXY for Christ’s sake and now I’m being chased by PIRATES?”

The Fates laughed at him, he had no doubts about that. They laughed and ate popcorn and threw footballs at him as they played with his life.

“A woman, in a closet, jumps out and shoots me. How unfair is that?” He glared downward in the direction he’d come. “Who is she? Bonny Anne Bonny? Does that make the others Blackbeard and Jean Lafitte?”

“Gah, dammit!” His foot slipped, the step slick with his blood, and he missed the rung. He made a little whimper as he placed his foot again, more carefully, and climbed further.

Unhappy as hell, and in a world of hurt, he kept moving upward, one rung at a time, pulling himself onward. He’d seen the schematics of the space station. He knew where he was going. He had to make it to the Observation level before the Pirate Queen made it much further.

He climbed, shaking, pulling himself upward, stepping to the next rung as he reached again.

Ow! Oh God… OW! Damn it! Damn it!

One hand remained clamped at his side, trying to keep pressure against the wound. His elbow had to work as a limb to lean against the ladder.

Suck it up, McKay! Keep going!

This bites. This really bites!

And he kept climbing, as quickly as he could manage, dreading the moment the woman would figure out how to get through the next two doors, and the airlock would open beneath him.

Not going to happen, he promised himself. Because you’re almost to the next door! And you will solve this problem like you always do.

Just a few more steps – a few more. Anyone can do this, right?

“I’m going to die,” he muttered. “I’m not going to make it, and I’m going to die!”

Another step, and another.

“Just watch! I’m going to pass out and fall, and strike my head on the way down on this stupid ladder. DEAD! I’ll be dead! If not from blood loss and the inevitable concussion, then it’ll be internal injuries from the fall. I’d probably land on the laptop and die from the shards jamming into my most necessary organs.”

He reached and stepped once more, and he reached the top of the section. He smiled at that accomplishment, breathing hard. “Knew I could do it,” he told himself and reached the panel, keyed in the command and opened the airlock above him.

Another cylindrical space, just like the one he was in, yawned above him. Another ladder.

He sighed at the sight and held still for a moment, breathing in gasps from his exertion and the pain.

How am I supposed to climb another one of these?

What the hell’s expected of me?

Pirates! Why’d there have to be pirates?

Pulling himself up past the gap in the ladders was murder. He groaned with the effort, screwing up his face and moving as quickly as possible to the next control panel and he shut the airlock behind him. HA!

Good, another door between himself and the mad marauding pirate wench. Excellent!

He paused, a hand spidery above the keypad as he thought. There was a sound beneath his feet, and he froze. A muted the sound of an airlock opening farther down. Then it closed a moment later.

CRAP! Oh crap crappy crap! She’s just one level down! Crap! Shit! Dammit!

Great.

He started punching in commands, overwriting the previously stored passwords with a few keystrokes. Almost immediately, he could hear her, beneath him.

How’d she climb the ladder so fast? What am I dealing with? Super Pirate Monkey Girl?

So unfair!

“You can’t have it!” he heard her voice rasp from the other side of the thick door. “You’re not taking what we’ve waited so long for!”

“What? The ZPM?” He kept working at the keypad.

“Our riches!”

“Riches? Oh yeah, that’s fine. Keep them! We already have our own box of booty.”

“What?” her voice was furious. “You have stolen from the Bogachiel!?”

Bogachiel! That was it. What kind of lame ass pirate name was that?

“I’ll skin you alive for that!” her muffled voice hissed.

Great -- way to piss off a pirate, McKay, he said to himself. First she shoots me, then she wants to skin me alive? “Come on! Give me a break. I’m havin’ a pretty bad day right now!”

Her voice was hard to hear through the heavy door, “I will cut out your heart when I get you!”

Rodney clung to the ladder, holding his side as he pressed his head to the ladder. “I was only trying to help you fix your ship," he whined softly. "Is this how you thank people? Why the hell should I care if you got a chest full of doubloons? Go on, have fun. Go keelhaulin’ with your buddies and shiver your timbers. Drink your rum, say, ‘Avast, me hearties,’ and sing ‘Yo-ho-ho’ and all that. Swab the poop deck!” And he hissed as he finished his dissertation, feeling empty and spent. His whole body tingled. His side throbbed with pain.

From the other side of the door, she let off what must have been a string of colorful curses.

He punched at the keypad as he listened to her muffled voice. She was caterwauling, getting even angrier by the sound of it, as she attempted to open the airlock that separated them. He made out her saying, “You’re a dead man as soon as I get through this door!”

McKay sighed, as he pressed a hand to his bleeding wound. Probably be a dead man no matter what you do, he thought. But, you’re not getting through this door.

He didn’t care how well she knew this space station, she was up against the brightest mind in the galaxy.

He concentrated on his work, entering data that would bewilder the system, canceling out their codes, denying access, finding his way to access the other doors. With a few keystrokes, he had not only locked the airlock between them, but also ensured that nothing else above the ZPM level would open -- unless by his command. With any luck, she would be truly trapped now – unable to go up or down. He grinned, biting his bottom lip. This would work, wouldn’t it? There! Done. That would do it.

But now he’d ensured that the others would be unable to rescue him. Great…

The woman kept up her hullabaloo.

“Try all you want!” Rodney called down. “Don’t give up. Just keep punching away at the keypad.”

He closed his eyes a moment as a shudder ran through him, and rested his head again. Below him, the pirate queen continued to bitch and wail, accomplishing nothing.

He smiled softly, realizing that he’d managed to imprison her. She would not be able to attack him again – or going after the others.

He stared at the little keypad that he’d just abused. If he’d had his laptop still, he’d be able to break into some of the main systems. If he'd just thought to break into the system while he still had it in his hands...

He touched his radio again, listening to the static. If he hadn’t been so incapable, so unable to hang onto his laptop, he would have been able to rig in his laptop at this juncture, and deactivate the jamming system, warn the Colonel and Teyla and Ronon. His next best bet was the observation deck above.

Rix and Zeno knew about this woman on the space station. How could they not? The others were in danger of a similar attack from those two.

Teyla… he stiffened, remembering how he’d left her alone with Rix. What sort of trouble was she in? Sorry, Teyla. So damn sorry. If he could only warn her and…

But, crap, he was as trapped as pirate girl.

He was on his own now – and this upward ladder led to nothing except the Observation Deck.

“I am so screwed,” he muttered again, and commenced climbing once again.

PART 9: CRACKERS   
Teyla followed Rix as the lanky man ran toward the doorway to the central core. He keyed in a code and seemed frustrated when the door didn’t part immediately. It hesitated and then it whooshed open. The man almost charged forward, but came to a complete halt as he stared within.

“Oh, crackers!” he gasped, going a little pale.

Teyla forced her way forward, coming to a stop at the verge of the opening, and just stared at the horrible sight that met her -- blood. It was spattered across one side of the floor, dripped down the ladder. An abandoned Ancient’s crystal, marked in red, lay in the center of the floor, but Teyla’s eyes were drawn to the laptop that rested not far from it.

She focused on it for hardly more than an instant – the familiar form fouled with blood. “Rodney,” she voiced softly. And for a moment, her breath seemed to be taken from her, replaced a second later by a dark anger.

In a flash, she grabbed hold of Rix, yanking him away from the opening and slamming him against the hallway wall. He gasped in surprise at her attack, eyes wild.

“Where is Dr. McKay!? What have you done?” Her voice was dark and she pressed her arm against his throat. “You KNOW something happened! Tell me!”

“Wortley!” Rix gasped out. “It had to be Wortley! Rodney must've opened the storeroom. I swear, I swear we didn’t want this to happen! We just wanted the ship fixed, that’s all. Just wanted the ship fixed so we could get out of here with the treasure before the others got back. But he must have opened the door and Wortley got upset! She was the guard. The last defense if someone went looking!”

Teyla kept her arm tight to his neck, the vision of the bloodied room filling her with dread. “You are Bogachiel?” Her question came out as an accusation, and her mind clouded with stories of days long past, of the marauders, the Bogachiel that had no home planet, that raided the settlements of others.

They took baubles, gold, crystals, anything portable and useless. They took pretty things that could be used in trade for technology, for ‘fast ships’, for luxuries.

And they killed people who stood in their way – murdered them. There was blood dripping down the walls of that room. She pressed harder against the man’s throat.

“They left us here!” Rix howled back at her, struggling to draw in a breath. “The others marooned us with no way to get out! Left us to watch it! We’ve watched it! We can’t stand it here anymore. All we wanted was to get out with what was due us!”

But Teyla wasn’t listening, her mind filled with the stories of bloodthirsty pirates and images of the room. She shoved herself off of Rix and plunged into the opening of the central core. Her hand flew to her radio. “Dr. McKay!” she called. “Rodney! Doctor McKay! Answer me! Please, answer me!”

But only the crackle of static was returned. “Colonel Sheppard, Ronon!” Her eyes focused on the stained laptop. She could make out the handprints in the blood -- there was no doubt to whom they belonged. 

Rodney was the type of person who couldn’t hide his joy when he found something new. She could imagine his face, and the way his eyes became so bright with curiosity. She could envision how overjoyed he’d be to parse through the supernova data he’d been collecting – the data that was on this laptop.

“Rodney,” she called again. He’d gone up. She carefully examined the blood and how it marked the ladders.

He’d come out on the floor above, and had gone further up – beyond the airlock.

She spun, fixing Rix with an unyielding look. “If he is hurt…” and she paused, because obviously the scientist was injured, seriously hurt.

Rix backed away, trying to get away, but Teyla grabbed him fiercely by the collar. Shoved him at the ladder, she demanded, “You will go up! And you will open the doorway above! You will help me find him!”

She pushed him with enough force that Rix lost his balance for a moment and his face collided with the ladder. He came back, a smear of blood across his face. He wiped at it with his sleeve. “Wait,” he cried, and pointed at the crystal. “We might need that.

Teyla snatched up the transparent piece and was beside Mills again, shoving at him, and Rix had no choice but to go up.  
\--------------------------------------

Zeno moved fast. Sheppard and Ronon were right behind him, but the big guy was a couple of steps ahead.

Damn, Sheppard groused to himself as he put more speed behind his pace and attempted to close the gap.

Zeno disappeared for a moment, moving around the curve of the hall. Sheppard put on the steam, and then came to an abrupt halt as Zeno came into sight again. Ronon might have run smack into the colonel if his own reflexes weren’t so quick.

Zeno faced them, his arm in motion as he reached for something tucked into his belt.

CRAP! OH CRAP! Sheppard went for his berretta.

Zeno’s weapon was already leveled at them, but instead of firing, a projectile came out of nowhere, and smashed into his arm. The weapon went off. The shot impacted into the wall not far from Sheppard’s head. The football wobbled away.

Bringing his own weapon to bear, Sheppard heard the inspiring whine of Ronon’s weapon powering up right beside his ear.

Zeno brought the weapon forward again, his face filled with hatred.

He didn’t manage to aim. He didn’t even manage to fully lift the weapon. The force of Ronon’s blast sent him reeling. Zeno slammed into the far wall, and slid, collapsing into a heap against one side of the hallway.

Limbs jerked for a moment, and then went completely still.

For a moment, Sheppard and Ronon stood in the hallway, over the body of Zeno as the football skittered on the floor. 

This was crazy, Sheppard quickly decided. This was insane.

Sheppard kept his weapon trained on the downed man, as he asked, “It was on stun, wasn’t it?”

Ronon, at his shoulder, muttered, “His wasn’t.”

“You killed him?”

Ronon shrugged, looking offended by his CO’s reaction. “He was going to kill you.”

“You could have stunned him,” Sheppard responded, unable to keep a slight whine from his voice. “We might need some information from him. Like, why did he go all weird ass crazy on us?”

Ronon replied evenly, “Didn’t have time to reset the weapon. I suppose you wanted to wait while I changed the setting?”

“Put that way… I’m okay with it,” Sheppard responded. He turned to face Ronon, asking, “So, what the HELL’s going on?”

Ronon shrugged, and leaned over Zeno to see if any sign of life remained.

“Damn it!” Sheppard reached for his radio as Ronon did his examination. “Teyla! McKay, respond. Respond immediately. No screwing around.” He waited a moment. “I mean it, McKay. I don’t care if you’re up to your elbows in the guts of that ship. Answer the goddamn radio!”

Ronon kicked at the dead man as Sheppard waited for a response. When the Colonel frowned, Ronon tried his radio as well. “Teyla?” he called. When she didn’t reply, he told Sheppard. “Radio’s still out.”

“Great,” Sheppard said with a groan.

“Still jammed,” Ronon surmised.

Sheppard sighed. “Damn it, Rodney.” He frowned, not knowing why he figured McKay was at the root of this latest development, but it seemed to be a good bet. “We got to find them – now. And we’re getting off this station.”

Ronon confirmed, “I’m ready to go. Been ready.” He looked at Zeno’s body with a sneer, and then lifted his chin a fraction as he thought of something. “What was that alarm for?”

“I got a bad feeling about that,” Sheppard sighed. He ran a hand through his hair as he gazed unhappily at the body in the hallway, and hoped that things weren’t going to get any worse.

Somehow, he feared that they would.

“Let’s go,” the colonel declared. He waited a moment as Ronon went back for the gear they’d left in the other room. He picked up the football in the hallway and lobbed it at the Satedan as they came back. Ronon caught it easily and crammed it into his pack.  
\-------------------------------------------------

He kept moving upward, wrapping an arm around the rung, using his knees as much as his feet to get a purchase. He felt so strange – so very strange, almost as if he was floating – as if he could let go and float his way to the top of the column.

He laughed at that image. “Ridiculous,” he muttered, forcing himself up another step, another rung, as quickly as he could go. If he could just reach the top, he’d reach the Observation Deck, which had access to the rest of the systems on the station. Maybe there was even a first aid kit, or something, and again he mourned his missing vest and pack.

He hurt. God he hurt. He'd never hurt this bad before. He hung for a moment, pressing his hand to his bleeding side, wondering if he was accomplishing anything. His leg was red with blood and his fingers were covered with it. Staying on the ladder wasn’t helping anything. He went up – and up. One foot and then another. Each step tore new pain through him.

He slipped, and held on, gritting his teeth as he found a purchase for his foot again.

Damning his horrible luck, he gasped, “Space pirates… This sucks so many ways.”

The next control panel was just above his head. Another step – don’t slip! And he was there -- at the last airlock. Finally… finally…

Breathing harshly, he held tightly to the rung with one hand as he entered the code and the double-airlock opened above him.

He gave a little gasp of surprise as he stared upward – not at another tube like the one he’d just left, but a panorama of stars.

He stared upward, sucking in oxygen, saying nothing, doing nothing beyond hanging on and letting his mind fill with the sight. It was… beautiful.

Another shock of pain ran through him and he moved -- he moved because a chance to rest was almost at hand -- he was nearly there.

Wearily, he pulled himself up and out, flopping onto the floor of the deck like a beached walrus. As he rolled away, the airlock to the central core shut, and he was left in the quiet canopy of stars.

He breathed slowly, holding his side. He’d made it. He’d made it all the way to the top, with a gaping hole in his side, dropping blood by the pint! Imagine that? Not only that, he’d manage to trap a Pirate Princess in the progress.

He truly was amazing.

Utterly amazing.

Someone should sing songs about him. Ballads. Long ballads.

Something good. Not that Barry Manilow crap.

Maybe something closer to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, but with a happier ending.

Maybe that wasn’t such a good example.

No, not very.

He licked his lips as he tried to pull himself together. A quick assessment of his injury told him that the bleeding seemed to have slowed now that he’d stopped moving. He had to do something. Yes, now he had a chance to take care of himself. With a painful gasp, he tried to see if he had an exit wound at his back. He turned, hissing through his teeth and felt about. oh God! Oh…oh… hurts like hell. That’s probably an exit wound. Ow! Ow! He flopped back.

What did that accomplish?

Damn, damn, I have nothing with me to bandage it up. My shirt? I could use my shirt?

But that would mean sitting up. Okay, try sitting up…

Oh God… Oh God…. No… no… maybe not… Damn.

I should just lay here a minute, catch my breath…. Catch my breath. Fine.

With any luck, he wouldn’t bleed to death immediately. It would take some time.

He had plenty of time now. He was safe from the wench, and the others had no way of getting to him.

He blinked at the stars, watching them blur.

Now that he’d reached this level, he’d be able to access the station’s systems – to alert the others. Yes, he needed to do that right away.

Immediately.

Now.

But that would mean sitting up, and it was so much easier to do nothing, to just lay here and look at the stars – the beautiful, perfect stars. He loved them, he truly did. Stars were so easy – predictable – unless of course they went supernova.

The others – they need to be warned.

He rolled onto his knees and forced himself upright, staggering as he grabbed the control counsel for the room, a podium-like structure. His head swam and he held tight, feeling himself shake.

He had to tell the others about the crazy woman he’d managed to lock in the central core. He might have captured her, but Zim and Reno were both on the loose.

Zim? Reno? Was that right?

He shook his head, wishing he could concentrate.

And if the super pirate monkey girl was as bloodthirsty as she seemed, that meant that those two clowns could be bad business for his friends.

Pawing at the controls, he managed to access the main systems. A few more keystrokes and he was into communications. He cocked his head, feeling as if the stars were swirling around his head as he made his way through the pathways left by the Ancients, poking and prodding, discovering the jamming system. After a moment’s consideration, he turned it off.

There, easy.

He was on his back again. He didn’t know how he ended up in that position. But after a short panic, he decided it was a good place to be. But damn, he should have taken off his shirt before this happened.

Why did he need to take off his shirt? He couldn’t remember. The idea was crazy! He started to shiver, feeling a chill.

He stared up at the stars, seeing them in all their beauty, even as he tried to blink them into focus. A turn of his head and he could see Muskingum, the big ringed planet that had greeted them at their arrival. Marxworld – Sheppardonia—whatever -- it was beautiful.

Slowly he turned his head in the other direction, to where the supernova colored the sky with its strange cloudlike structure. He felt a tear build in his eye as he gazed at it. He wanted to blink it away, but it escaped him and ran down his cheek as he looked into the depths of the supernova.

He wished… he wished he understood more about it. He wanted to know more.

But he had something to do. Something… he needed to tell the others… warn them…

A hand moved from his side, feeling like lead, and he brought it to his ear and tried the radio. “Teyla?” he called softly, finding little strength left in his voice. “Colonel? Ronon?”

Almost immediately, voices assaulted him. Funny, he could identify them, but couldn’t quite make out what they said. They were all chattering at the same time, their voices demanding answers. He wanted to reply to them, but couldn’t quite understand their words.

Someone was frantic, but he couldn’t make out why. He heard the word ' blood.'

“What? Rodney! Where are you?” the colonel’s voice pierced through his consciousness. “Rodney! Answer me!”

“Observation Deck,” he responded, his voice light and dreamy. “A woman… … Tried to kill me. I… trapped her… be careful. I…” But he couldn’t form a coherent thought.

He continued to focus on the supernova, so magnificent and violent, so simple-looking and filled with great power. Their voices continued to ring in his ears, but he couldn’t even tell them apart anymore, and his mind was drifting, getting further from the confines of the deck and falling into the deceptive clouds of the supernova.

He was surrounded by stars -- enclosed by incredible beauty. He smiled numbly. It wasn’t such a bad place to die.

PART 10: THE CENTRAL CORE

“McKay!” Sheppard called. “McKay! Goddamn it, McKay, answer me! Teyla? What did you find?”

“John!” she shouted over the radio, her voice electric with rage and worry. “Rodney is badly hurt. There is blood -- a great deal of blood! We must get to him.”

Outside of the central core, Sheppard closed his eyes for a moment and uttered a soft, “No…”

He tried another series of numbers at the door. The keypad blatted at him. He scowled and tried again. “Damn it! Damn it!” he growled, slamming an open palm against the door. He spoke over the radio. “Get to him, Teyla!”

“We are attempting to access the next level,” Teyla replied, frustrated.

“We?” Sheppard responded. “Mills is with you?”

“Rix is attempting to key open the airlock above us, and is facing difficulty. The keypad to the upper hall has been disassembled. He has replaced a missing crystal, but he’s not sure if this is affecting the airlock.”

Over the connection, they could hear Rix whine about codes being changed, his access not working any longer – and then a stifled gasp as if he was met with a sudden pain. Teyla had undoubtedly given him a shove.

“Teyla, don’t trust him,” Sheppard warned, his voice like steel.

“I do not,” Teyla told him. “He is Bogachiel. They are all Bogachiel.”

At the mention of that name, Ronon let out a frustrated sound.

“Bogachiel?” Sheppard repeated, familiar with the name. It took him a moment, but it came to him. “Space Pirates?” His voice was incredulous.

“Yes,” Teyla responded.

“Damn it,” Sheppard muttered, shaking his head. “Space pirates… This can’t be happening.”

“Don’t let him out of your sight,” Ronon ordered the Athosian.

“I do not know the codes to get through to the next level,” Teyla told him.

Another voice came over the comm., speaking in a quiet slur, “Can’t… locked it…”

Sheppard froze at the sound – the usually impatient and energetic scientist sounded so tired, so weak. “Rodney, hang in there. We’re coming.” Beside him, Ronon shifted back and forth, obviously itching to get moving.

“How do we get past this airlock?” Teyla came on. “Rodney, tell me how to open it!”

Sheppard glanced to Dex as Rodney spoke again. “Can’t unlock it. She’s… dangerous. Had to… had to trap her in.”

“Who the hell is ‘She’?” Sheppard spat over the airwaves.

“Her name is Wortley,” Teyla replied. There was a pause as Rix must have said something. “Rix believes she shot Rodney when he discovered her guarding their treasure.”

Sheppard groaned, finding it hard to believe that he’d again come across a treasure chest in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Another slight pause and Teyla went on, “We can hear her. She is in the section directly above us. She is not happy.”

“McKay!” Sheppard growled. “Unlock the damn doors!” He poked viciously at the keypad, and the thing just bleeped flippantly at him. “Ronon and me are stuck down in the lower levels! Let us get in! We’ll take care of her.”

“Lower levels… weren’t affected,” Rodney returned. “I … I just shut down… airlocks above the… control center.”

“Then why can’t I open this goddamn door!?” Sheppard growled.

“Are you entering… the correct code?” Rodney asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Sheppard scowled. “What’s the right code, Rodney?” 

A quiet moment, and then Rodney said, “Let me think… having trouble…”

“Colonel, Rix will let you in,” Teyla’s voice came on.

Within the column, Sheppard heard something moved, and the muffled sound of an airlock opening, and then closing above them, and after a moment, the door to the central core slid open. Rix stood at the doorway. He smiled for a moment, but the expression dropped immediately as he took in Sheppard and Ronon. He backed away.

Teyla dropped down beside Mills. She said nothing. Her eyes bleak, she held up the laptop for Sheppard to see it. 

“Son of a bitch,” John muttered, his eyes wide at the amount of blood that coated the device. He looked up to Teyla, whose face was set like stone.

There was a shove from behind him. Ronon pushed his way through the narrow door and in a flash the Satedan was on Rix. For the second time the scrawny redhead was slammed against a wall.

“I didn’t do it!” Rix cried. “It wasn’t me…”

Ronon just growled, shoving the man off the ground as he pressed him into the wall.

“I’m trying to help!” Rix insisted.

Sheppard took the laptop from Teyla with one hand, and met her eyes, seeing the fear. Sheppard touched his radio again. “Rodney?” he called.

“Rodney?” he tried again when silence was returned.

“Present…” Rodney finally replied, softly.

We’re coming to get you,” Sheppard promised.

“He’s locked it up tight,” Rix insisted, and then let out an OOF as Ronon pushed him further against the wall. “I tried! I can’t go any further. He’s done something to the airlocks. Honest!”

“Keep trying!” Ronon demanded. Grasping hold of Rix’s shirt, he flung him toward the keypad at the door. “Get that airlock open, or end up like your friend.”

Rix gasped, coming to a stop and turning toward them. “Zeno?” he asked. “What happened to Zeno?”

“He’s dead,” Ronon explained tersely.

The man stared at Ronon a moment, then Sheppard. “You killed Zeno?” He looked lost. “Why?”

“He was about to shoot me,” Sheppard responded.

“It was us or him,” Ronon completed.

Rix shook his head mournfully. “This is so checkered up!” he whispered. He looked beseechingly at Teyla. “We weren’t going to do you any harm. You’d fix our ship and then you’d go. We’d load up the Ironspot full of riches and go.” He stopped short. “Wortley knew places. Knew lots of places where we could hide out and they’d never find us – the others. They’d come after us, you know. They’d come looking. We just wanted to go!”

He looked from one of them to the other. “Rodney must have opened the stronghold. And… you killed Zeno?” He looked aghast as he asked, “And me? You’re just gonna kill me, too?”

Sheppard paused a moment, then declared, “Get us to McKay and we’ll let you go.”

Rix scuttled to the keypad. He closed the door that led to the hallway, and flew up the ladder, climbing like a monkey. Teyla was right behind him when he reached the airlock above them.

When the ceiling slid open, revealing the next section of the central core, Ronon let out a low growl. He jammed one of their packs at Sheppard, and set off after the others.

Rix and Teyla climbed. Sheppard stared upward into the next section, not sure about what he was looking at. For the love of God, it looked like paint had dripped down the wall and around the ladder.

Sheppard took a moment to secure the smeared laptop into his pack, and then slung the rucksack over his shoulders and started up after Ronon.

He topped the open airlock. Rix hung to one side of the ladder, waiting until the others climbed past him before he shut the aperture after them.

It wasn’t until the shut airlock formed a floor beneath them that Sheppard saw the true extent of what had happened to Rodney, the blood that had collected on the ‘floor’.

Oh God…

Ronon, just above him on the ladder, seemed thick with rage.

“It’s the airlock above that’s jammed,” Rix explained unnecessarily as he climbed along the side of the ladder, easily passing the others.

Sheppard’s hand flew to his radio, activating it. “Rodney,” he called. “Rodney, talk to me, buddy. How’re you doing?”

He dropped from the ladder to the ‘floor’. “Rodney,” he called again. “You’re going to have to unlock the doors.”

“Can’t…” was the response. “Not from here.”

“From where then? We’re in-between the jumper bay level and the control level right now.”

“Two floors down.”

“Okay, we’ll go down there.”

“From where… I am!” was the snappish reply. “I locked it… two floors below the observation deck….”

Sheppard looked mournfully upward, realizing how far McKay had to climb, and in pain. “Rodney, where’re you hurt?”

“Shot… right above my hip. God, it hurts. It hurts… She shot me!”

“You get it bound up with anything?” Ronon asked.

“I… I… I got nothing. Oh yeah… shirt… was going to use that. Forgot. Damn, I forgot…”

“Rodney?” Sheppard called, looking upward as if it would help him see his friend. He had to get to him… had to see for sure.

“Not so bad now. Bleeding is slowed down a lot. Not so bad… God it hurts.”

Ronon growled again, his hands clenching the rungs tightly.

Rix was above them, prodding away at the keypad. Sheppard frowned as a woman's muffled and enraged voice resounded from beyond the airlock.

“I’m trying!” Rix whined in answer to her. “I’m trying to open it! It won’t go!”

Thumping was heard, with stifled curses.

Ronon, further down the ladder, had his weapon out and ready in case either Rix or Wortley were successful.

“Colonel,” Rodney’s voice came through the radio again, sounding almost timid.

Sheppard swallowed, and then answered, “Yeah?” He kept watching the ceiling, wanting to get through it, wanting to be able to see his way around it.

“You need to get the ZPM,” McKay said softly. “Don’t leave it…”

“We’re kinda busy trying to get past your work right now.”

“Don’t leave the ZPM..”

“We’ll get it,” Sheppard snapped, “After we reach you.”

“Took out a crystal to … disabled the hallway door in the core, and another… into the room. Need to put them back.”

“We’re working on something else right now.”

“Find my laptop. I dropped it … valuable… don’t leave it. Someone can fix it… get the data.”

“McKay! Listen to me! We’re going to get through whatever you did to the airlocks and we’ll…”

“Can’t…” A short laugh followed. “Oh God, I really screwed myself. Stupid… so stupid.” And then a pained cough followed, the sound of struggled breathing.

“Rodney, we’re going to figure this out! Rodney?” Sheppard waited, listening to Rodney breathe over the comm.

Above him, Rix still poked ineffectually at the keypad while the woman named Wortley raged. John couldn’t quite make out what she was yelling, but the tone let him understand exactly why Rodney had locked her in.

And Rodney was alone, and hurt. How much time did he have?

If I could just see him, John thought, see if he was going to be okay…

“Rix! Get this door open!” Sheppard demanded.

“I’m trying!” Rix insisted.

“This one!” Sheppard jabbed a finger at the door at his side. “Let me into the jumper level!”

“Huh?” Rix looked over his shoulder, past Teyla who was halfway on top of him, and Ronon who trained his gun somewhere near his head. He noted where Sheppard was pointing. “Oh. The gateships!” And Rix maneuvered around until he was clinging to the side of the ladder again, and sort of slid down it, neatly avoiding both of the people beneath him.

He landed with a thunk beside Sheppard, and looked at his hands in disgust. He took a moment to wipe Rodney’s blood off on his trousers before he worked the keypad to open the door to the lower hallway.

“Keep an eye on him!” Sheppard ordered Ronon. Turning to Teyla, he demanded, “Get the goddamn ZPM. His power buffer should be loaded.” It would give them an hour, right? It wasn't as if Rodney had any time left, anyway.

“Where’re you going?” Ronon asked Sheppard, keeping his gaze on the squirrelly pirate.

“I’m taking the jumper out. Going to see if there’s any other way to get around this.” Sheppard nodded up at the secured airlock, and then added, “Need to check on him.” He gave Rix a shove toward the ladder. “Get back up there and let Teyla into the power level, then you’re back to work on getting that airlock open. You got that?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rix responded and clambered up the ladder once again.

Sheppard slipped through the door, and into gateship level of the space station, the door snicking shut behind him.

His feet pounded as he made his way around the central core and back to the dock where their jumper awaited. He was within the ship almost immediately. God, it felt good to be back in a real jumper, to find Jumper 5 all clean and reasonably neat, without cancerous growths attached everywhere.

Quickly, John detached from the station and floated free “Rodney? You still with us. Rodney?”

“Yeah,” was the quiet return.

“Good, keep it that way. Teyla?”

“Rix has regained access to the control level. I am replacing the crystal for the door to the ZPM unit,” Teyla replied. There was a ‘whoosh’ and then she said, “I am in.”

“Careful…” Rodney warned. “Be very… careful.”

“I understand how to handle a ZPM device. I have a good teacher,” Teyla replied over the radio. “Colonel, I will bring the device down to the dock for when you return with the jumper.” 

“Good, yeah, perfect,” Sheppard responded as he redirected the jumper, bringing it up and around, to the ‘flower’ of the potted plant space station.

He examined the bottom of the observation deck, grimacing as he saw no sign of another entryway. Nothing. Unable to do any good there, he brought the jumper up and over the deck, to stare into the dome. “Rodney?”

Through the transparent material, he could make out the scientist, prone beside the control console. He was staring upward and clutched his side, unaware that the jumper had appeared. 

“Rodney?” Sheppard called again.

“‘m still here,” Rodney replied weakly. It was strange to see his lips moving in that clear dome, and have his soft voice come over the radio.

“I’m here. To your left.”

Rodney looked momentarily in the wrong direction and then turned his head correctly. For a moment he just blinked at the jumper outside the window, and then smiled at the strangeness of it. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Sheppard returned, watching the languid movements of the scientist. Rodney's whole side, from his waist down was dark with blood. “Looks like you sprung a leak,” John said conversationally.

“Yeah,” Rodney responded, keeping his hand clamped to the hole above his hip. “I’m not doing so good here,” he confessed. “It’s better than it was,” he admitted quietly. “Think the bleeding’s almost stopped.” He released his hand for a moment and groaned. With a pained look he gazed toward the blood that coated him. “This isn’t good,” he commented.

“How do we get in there, Rodney?” Sheppard asked, not able to keep the pleading tone from his voice. “There’s another entrance, isn’t there?”

“‘Fraid not,” Rodney responded, and laughed a little giddily. “A string walks into a bar…”

“Rodney! We need a way to get through the airlocks.”

“Bonny Anne Bonny is in there.”

“Ronon will deal with Wortley. Listen to me, Rodney, if there’s any way to undo whatever you did…”

“Not from here,” Rodney said sadly. “Messed up… messed up big.”

“There’s got to be another docking station or something in this deck!” Sheppard yelled. “There has to be a way to get in there!”

“Only one way in and out,” Rodney responded. He blinked at John, and said, “It’s good to see you, colonel.”

“Figure it out! Rodney! How do I get in there? I’m getting in one way or another.”

“Only one way in…” Rodney gulped and closed his eyes. He seemed to shudder as he said, “Sorry…”

Sheppard groaned, pressing a hand to his head as he stared at the stalk-like central core and tried to figure out a way around it. 

 

PART 11: RUN!

Teyla ran to the power room, trying not to look at the trail of blood that led her. She found the place where Rodney had been shot – the floor just inside the room showed the evidence. She fixed the crystal that Rodney had removed, and entered the room.

It only took a moment for her to release the ZPM from its containment after she verified that the buffer had been fully charged -- buying them enough time, she hoped, to get them all out safely. She knew they'd be leaving this place the moment they put their hands on Rodney. Now, it was just a matter of managing that.

She’d paid attention when Rodney was around these devices, just as she’d watched whenever he fiddled with the crystals near doorways. She would not have been able to figure out which crystal needed to be removed in order to lock a door – but she could suss out where to replace a removed crystal.

Once the ZPM lifted from the system, she pulled it carefully from its mooring, holding it and wondering if she should be able to feel the power that flowed in it. It felt like nothing special to her. Still, aware of its force, she placed it into her pack, and lifted it over her arm. She paused momentarily to peer into the ‘treasure room.’

It was much like the room they’d discovered on PX1-H0H, that watery wet world of moss and trees, that planet where Rodney had been left behind. The memory of that moment put her into action and she turned her back on the riches and ran from the room.

She darted back to the central core and rapped on the shut door. After a pause, it opened. Rix motioned for her to get in quickly.

Wortley’s voice was evident, but muffled by the double airlocks between them. Teyla had to struggle to hear. “Get me out of here!”

“I’m working on it! I am!”

Teyla moved to the ladder, carefully handing the ZPM to Ronon.

“That shit! He did this to me!” the woman screamed.

“I’ll getcha out, Wortley,” Rix promised. “Just hang on a minute.”

Ronon looked reluctant to move from his place, guarding Rix, but when Teyla drew her weapon on the pirate, he relinquished the responsibility, and accepted the package containing the ZPM and climbing down to the ‘floor’.

“He should be dead! I had a clean shot at him.” There was a thump. “He locked me up in my own home! I’ll suffocate in here!”

Once Teyla was clear of the hallway door, Rix shut it, and recommenced trying to undo Rodney’s work with the airlock. “He was only trying to save himself,” Rix reminded.

“You! You’re on their side?” Wortley accused.

“No! No, that’s not right! I’m not! Well, I guess if you take things literally, I am -- right now… but… I’m trying to get you out. I really am.”

“What did they promise you?”

“Nothing. Well, that’s not true. They promised to let me go if I helped.”

“Traitor!”

“No, no, it’s not like that at all,” Rix said, glancing down as Teyla who kept her weapon trained on him. “I’m trying to get you out! They’ll take us all with them. Well, not Zeno, but…”

“Zeno?”

“Well, he’s… they killed him.”

From beneath him, Teyla gave Rix a jab, trying to quiet him down.

“You are on their side!” Wortley barked. “Zeno’s dead and I will be next! You’re taking the treasure!”

“No, Wortley…”

“You’re leaving me and taking the Ironspot!”

Rix turned to Teyla, “Did Rodney fix the Ironspot? Is it fixed?” The look Teyla leveled at him told the pirate what he wanted to know. “Even if the ship is fixed, Wortley, I wouldn’t leave you.”

“You’re right. Nobody leaves.”

“What do you mean?”

“This ends here.”

Rix paused in his frittering at the keypad. He froze for a moment and looked upward to the airlock. “You don’t mean it,” he cried.

“Oh Rixy, I do. I always knew this would come in handy someday.”

“No!” Rix shot back. “NO!” He twisted about on the ladder, his eyes wide as saucers. “Run!” his voice came out in a strangled gasp. “RUN!”

He dropped off the ladder, landing beside Ronon. He keyed in the command and the door opened to the hallway. “The Ironspot? Rodney fixed it?” Rix asked again.

Teyla was beside him. “Yes,” she responded. And before she could say any more, Rix darted into the hallway at the gateship level.

He ran the short distance to the bay, opening the door and dashed within, Ronon and Teyla at his heels. He was in the pilot’s seat before Ronon could catch him.

“What’s going on?!” Ronon bellowed.

“She’s … she’s going to blow it up.” Rix squeaked, his hands playing over the controls. “She always said she would… if things went wrong. She always said she’d kill herself before she let the treasure go.” He smiled gratefully as the ship came online, lights glowed, the mismatched circuits hummed. “Rodney did it… he did it…”

“Blow it up?” Teyla repeated the phrase as the rear hatch shut. It sealed the Ironspot with a sigh.

“She’s got Wraith armor,” he explained, quickly decompressing the bay, and throwing open the bay doors, exposing the ship to space. A spray of debris was ejected into space as he fired up the ship. “She’s going to set off her self-destruct.”

Ronon grumbled like a thunder’s roll.

“She doesn’t keep it powered up. Too dangerous, but she always wears it. Always threatens us. Should take a few more seconds before it goes. Crackers, we’re going to be close! Strap yourselves in!”

And the Ironspot shot forward, screaming out of the jumper bay as Teyla radioed Sheppard.

\--------------------------------

“We’ll figure it out,” Sheppard promised the figure on the deck. “Just hang on a bit more. We’ll find a way to get around this.” He watched McKay, flat on his back and looking upward, as if it was easier than keeping his head turned.

Instead of Rodney responding, Teyla’s voice spoke urgently over the system, “Colonel, you must get away – immediately! Wortley is in possession of a Wraith self-destruct system. She is about to use it to destroy the station.”

“I’m not leaving…”

Rodney blinked, and then turned toward him. “Go…” he pleaded. Even from the distance and the dome that separated them, his eyes looked sharp and blue. “Go!”

“Mills is wrong!” Sheppard insisted.

“He is adamant,” Teyla replied. “And terrified.”

Flotsam and jetsam floated near the gateship bay, and Sheppard watched as the Ironspot jetted away. He felt his heart constrict, and uttered a strangled, “No…”

“We must go!” Teyla continued, there was a hitch in her voice as she stated, “There is nothing else we can do. Colonel…I’m sorry…”

“Please…” Rodney’s voice was so quiet, it was barely heard. “You must,” he insisted, watching the jumper that hovered just outside his great domed window. “Don’t be stupid.”

Stupid! So goddamn stupid! Everything about this was stupid! Rodney was so close! So damn close! John wasn’t going to give up. He wasn’t going to leave his friend. He wasn't the type to run, leaving a man behind.

“Now!!” Teyla implored, as the Ironspot flashed away in the opposite direction. “There are only seconds remaining. John…”

The hopelessness of the situation tore at him – so close – but impossible to reach. What could he do? What could he possibly do?

“Go…” Rodney insisted. “There’s nothing you can do. Please!”

John knew it… he knew it.

Sheppard gave Rodney one last look. He wanted to tell him that he’d be back. He wanted to tell Rodney not to worry, that everything would be fine.

But Rodney was a genius after all.

He wanted to tell Rodney that he was sorry. He wanted to thank him for…

“So long, Colonel,” Rodney said quietly.

What else could he do?

With a shout of frustration and rage, Sheppard brought the jumper about and put full power behind it. He still shouted as the ship sped away, not wanting to look, but knowing as the HUD came up, that the central core had burst in bright colors, splitting and rending, splintering the space station into pieces.

As the flowerpot blew apart behind him, somehow, in spite of McKay’s insistence to the contrary, Sheppard expected noise.


	3. Third Part

PART 12: SHIPWRECKED

He floated among the stars. 

Weightless, he reached out toward them. Fingers spread, the stars seemed to flow right through them, like grains of sand. His feet aimed toward the great ringed planet, as if he might be able to shove off from it, and propel himself into the soft clouds of the supernova.

It was like a dream. He was gliding through space. And he smiled at his simplistic thinking. He should know better. He should be classifying the stars, considering a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. He should divide the stars into white dwarfs and neutron stars, blue giants, red supergiants, red dwarfs –

 

It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere.

He should be thinking about the myriad solar systems. He should be envisioning elliptical orbits, or the dance of binary systems.

Which of the distant suns harbored viable planets? Where were the stargates? Which of these suns had he seen already, standing with his team on one of the sun’s orbiting worlds?

 

I'm all alone, more or less.

He should know. He should be able to pinpoint every world he’d ever visited in the galaxy. He should be able to look here and remember where Hoff orbited. And over there is the Genii homeworld. And that’s Lucius's muddle-minded home.

 

Let me fly far away from here.

And there is Atlantis.

 

Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun

Instead, he floated, looking to the mystic spectacle, and thought the stars were pretty -- their beauty, so intense, it brought tears to his eyes.

Blinking, he looked into the remnants of the supernova, wishing he could’ve had time to read the data he collected, to understand it.

There was so much more to know.

And he’d dropped it. He had the laptop in his hands and had let it go… stupid.

Everything was blurring, and he realized how impossible it was to float through space, without an environmental suit, all alone. Was he dead?

 

I want to lie, shipwrecked and comatose, 

And yet he glided, and tried not to think about it too much, because the view was so exquisite, so breathtakingly gorgeous.

It was so damn beautiful.

 

drinking fresh mango juice

He reached out his hands toward the stars as if he might grasp hold of them, as if they might hold onto him, and he floated onward.

His fingers felt numb and as he clasped worthlessly at the stars, he felt cold – cold and alone.

He was lost, surrounded by the things of his dreams. Peaceful… it should be peaceful.

 

Goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes

But something dreadful pulled at him. There had been a blast. Something terrible had happened.

His head felt leaden, in spite of the weightlessness. His side burned, and he turned slowly, looking and wondering what had become of Sheppard and the jumper.

What had happened to Sheppard? To Teyla? To Ronon? He swallowed thickly, as he looked to the spot where he’d last seen the colonel. Had the colonel survived? Did Sheppard wait too long to leave? He released a sobering sigh, realizing that the colonel’s dawdling probably spelled his end.

Sorry, he thought, floating among the stars, as all around, little balls of red accompanied him -- tiny little crimson beads that floated near him like confetti.

 

Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun

 

\-------------------------------------

Sheppard turned the jumper about the moment that the HUD announced the concussion of the silent explosion had past him. He’d been thrown for a moment, but had easily brought the jumper back into control. It seemed a little annoyed with him.

Heading back, the jumper dove and spun, avoiding the slabs of debris that came at him… part of the central core seemed to roll through space, and there was a chair… and there a tabletop. Some sort of silvery packet skated past. He didn’t regard it too closely, but he was fairly sure that it was the abandoned Country Captain Chicken. Sheppard hoped it eventually burned up in the gas giant’s atmosphere.

And strafing him, glittering as it passed, came the gold and silver -- the booty of the pirates. He swore, neatly avoiding what looked like a bejeweled cup.

His eyes darted through the debris, searching and hoping he didn’t find the thing he sought… not like this. His chest felt tight. He could hardly breathe as he stared into the destruction, as he hoped, beyond hope.

“Rodney!” he called over the radio. “Ronon! Teyla!”

No one responded, and he felt his heart chill as he steered the jumper back the way he’d come. His eyes took in the sight. Nothing remained of the space station – nothing!

Goddamn… goddamn…. No… no..!

“Teyla…Ronon…?”

And then Teyla’s voice sounded in his ear. “John!” she called, her voice plain with relief. “You escaped? Are you all right?” He found the Ironspot, the weird looking ship with its odd fitting engines and the ‘space crane’ on its roof.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! You?”

“I am well. Ronon…” a pause as she ascertained an answer. “He is unharmed. We are well.”

“Rodney?” Sheppard called again, hoping. There was nothing here. How could he have survived? Nothing left… A horrible loneliness tugged at him as he tried to understand that Rodney was gone -- it felt so wrong.

“Rodney?” he tried hailing again. Then, he called, “Teyla, you got any sign of him?”

“No, colonel,” was the solemn response.

Sheppard grimaced. Damn it! Damn it! The dome… was it completely obliterated?

And the HUD lit up, impossibly displaying the shape of the observation deck. He stared at it, wondering what it meant, and then realized with a quick intake of breath, the dome was intact, heading away at a steady clip.

For a moment he was still, watching the display. Oh, thank God!

Hadn’t Rix said that the station was made in pieces? Perhaps it could come apart just as easily. The deck, had it shot off like a champagne cork?

“Is he still alive?” he whispered, and a little dot lit up on the HUD. Sheppard felt something unknot inside him. Thank God…

“Teyla!” he shouted. “The dome! The observation deck, it’s intact!”

“It is?” she replied, a response so simple and so hopeful that it almost broke Sheppard’s heart.

“I’m getting a life sign. I’m going after it! Follow me!”

Another pause, and Teyla came back. “We have a problem,” she stated, her voice stilted with distress. “Rix is not responding. We had a rough time in the explosion. He hit his head…” And her voice trailed.

Sheppard bit his lip. “Great. Okay, you stay put. I’m going after Rodney.”

 

\----------------------------

Ronon helped Teyla move the stunned pilot out of his seat. They said nothing to each other, as if mentioning their hopes aloud might dispel them.

Rix blinked at them stupidly, seeming unable to figure out exactly what was going on.

“Hey,” he said softly, as they settled him in the seat behind the copilot’s chair. “What… What happened?”

“You hit your head, Rix,” Teyla told him.

The man seemed to look beyond her. He held a hand to his forehead, bringing it back to find blood. He stared at his reddened fingers for a long moment as if he couldn’t quite remember how the blood got there. “Oh,” he said softly.

Rix had activated the shields, but a glancing blow from a chunk of the station had rocked the ship, sending it spinning. The inertial dampners had helped, but obviously their quality had degraded. Rix had been sent crashing into the control panel, shutting down the systems.

Apparently he didn’t take his own advice about getting strapped in. The necessity of the seat straps was evident now. 

Once Rix was settled, Teyla held his face in her hands. His eyes were unfocused, his pupils too big. She hadn’t noticed before, but Rix had eyes the color of a green sea. He blinked, seeming unable to clear his vision, hardly even noticing her proximity.

“Rix?” Teyla called his name.

Rix’s expression was lost and a little afraid. “What happened?” he asked again, softly. And then, “Who are you?”

“I am Teyla,” she explained softly. “There was an explosion.”

Rix didn’t seem to comprehend her. He squinted a moment and commented, “You’re lovely.”

Teyla allowed herself a smile at that comment.

“My head hurts,” Rix went on, touching his head again, and seeming to be surprised once more by the sight of blood.

“Teyla,” Ronon called as he stood, tense, beside the control console. “We’re not letting Sheppard go after McKay on his own.”

With a nod to Ronon, she stood and stated, “I will fly the Ironspot.”

Ronon looked as if he wanted to argue the point, but acquiesced to her pronouncement, and he moved out of her way.

She moved into the pilot seat, and stared at the controls for a moment, not exactly sure what to do. It didn’t look like the jumper’s control panel – basically, it was the same, but there were coarse-looking toggles added, a clunky bank of switches, and some dials installed in a ham-handed manner. The cool colors she usually saw in the Ancients’ equipment was overridden with dark brasses, coppery coils, and – here and there – splashes of acid-bright color from the added gauges.

She’d seen Sheppard and McKay and others fly the jumpers, but she lacked the ATA gene. But she had listened during the lessons Sheppard had offered the scientist, and had heard McKay’s iteration of what the controls were actually for – correcting Sheppard’s terminology when the colonel started ‘making things up’.

And Dr. McKay had helped her in guiding the Wraith ship. He seemed to know intuitively what needed to be done, able to explain how to get the Hive Ship in motion, even though he’d never done anything like it before.

She stared at the controls as she remembered -- already missing Rodney’s brilliance, his sometimes caustic, often intense, but always honest demeanor.

We will find him, she reminded herself. We will get him back.

This ship would be different than either the Hive or jumper. There was no mental component. This would be all physical. She had no real experience with this, but she’d watched Rix.

She reached out her hands, grasping hold of the controls as Sheppard might have done. Paused a hand over a gauge, examining what it told her, as McKay would. She flipped one of the switches Rix had fiddled with earlier, and the Ironspot started to move forward. “Strap yourself in,” she reminded Ronon.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Ronon secured Rix. Even the seating area was different than the jumper. Someone had replaced the seats with chairs more plush than they had in their ships. The command chair was downright comfortable.

Maybe the Ancestors weren’t right about everything, the Athosian considered. The Bogachiel might have had them on comfort.

The pirate seemed confused by the straps as Ronon fitted him in, and startled. He tried to press himself into his chair, away from the big man. “Who?” the pirate asked, gazing up at him. “Zeno?”

“No,” Ronon responded. “Ronon.”

“Oh,” Rix said softly, looking as if he didn’t know what else to say.

Teyla continued her quick exploration of the controls, its mix-mash of technologies, figuring it out as best she could as the ship inched along. She’d get it, she realized, she’d figure it out well enough to follow the colonel. And she looked in the direction he’d headed, remembering what John had said.

The Observation Deck was still intact – Rodney.

She put more power behind the Ironspot and it leapt at her command. She guided the ship forward, increasing the speed as Ronon sat and strapped himself in.

“You think McKay’s all right?” Ronon asked, his voice surprisingly soft.

Teyla inclined her head, watching the controls, trying to make sense of the series of strange gauges amid the more familiar Ancient devices. “I believe,” she stated, “that if anyone survived the explosion of a space station, it would be Dr. Rodney McKay.”

Ronon nodded and settled into his seat as the Ironspot chased down Jumper 5.

 

PART 13: SNOWGLOBE

The Observation Level of the space station glided away from the explosion. With no friction or gravity to stop it, the dome kept moving. Sheppard pressed the jumper to a faster speed to catch up to it.

He squinted at the bottom of the structure as he approached. The exploded remnants of the inner core looked very much like tentacles, trailing behind an escaping jellyfish. It was a strangely beautiful sight. And, as he stared at the broken off central core, Sheppard had an idea.

“Rodney!” he called. “McKay!” but there was no response on the radio.

He pulled the jumper around the dome, as he had before and looked within. Rodney was gone. The floor was vacant. The space beside the control console was empty. “Rodney,” he whispered. “No…”

It made no sense… the life sign detector told that someone was still alive there. Sheppard’s eyes tracked ‘upward’ and he almost jerked back in his seat as he found what he was looking for. He sighed. There – there was Rodney -- floating freely in dome.

“Thank you,” Sheppard whispered. “Thank you.”

Environmental controls were offline – the dome no longer had gravity – or any other life support for that matter.

Rodney seemed to be awake, looking off toward the supernova.

“McKay,” Sheppard called through the radio. “Rodney, I’m back. Hey, look over here. I’m on your right.” But the physicist didn’t change his gaze; he continued to stare in the other direction.

Well, hell, Sheppard wouldn’t put up with that. If Rodney wouldn’t look toward him, he’d just have to make it impossible NOT to see him.

John easily guided the jumper about, and was glad to see that the physicist's eyes were open, if staring off (literally) into space. He brought the ship into McKay’s line of vision. For a moment, Rodney seemed to look beyond him, but then his eyes blinked and he focused, his expression bewildered.

“Hey, answer man,” Sheppard called over the radio. “How are we getting out of this one?”

“Colonel?” McKay answered softly, his voice full of wonder. "What are you doing here?" Apparently he hadn’t lost his radio.

“Getting you out of there -- how do we do it?”

“What happened?”

“Pirate chick blew herself up. Space station exploded.”

“I KNOW that,” was the irritated response. “You don’t think I remember a space station blowing up? Just look at me!” He gestured to his surroundings.

“Kinda hard to forget, huh?”

Rodney took a moment to draw his strength. “The others? Did they…”

“They’re fine, Rodney. Look, you’re heading toward Atlantis. Probably will make it there in a few millennia.”

“Not toward Atlantis,” McKay mumbled. “Deep space probably…”

“Fine,” Sheppard responded. “Deep space. But we should probably get you out of there before you get much further. I got an idea. You got a hunk of the central core still attached to the bottom of the dome. If I got it loose, could the jumper dock at the airlock?”

McKay floated, his arms out in front of him, leaving Sheppard with the impression of Superman stalled in place. Rodney blinked again, slowly. “Life support's shut down,” McKay stated, his voice soft.

“Yeah, but you got plenty of air in there, Rodney. The dome is freaking huge.”

“Going to get cold,” he commented, a bit of a shudder in his voice. “Matter of time.”

“Fine, it’s going to get cold, so you have to tell me what to do before your teeth start chattering. How do I detach that wrecked piece of the central core? Once it’s off, can I hook up the jumper?” He tried to keep the tension from his voice, to keep his manner easy, meanwhile, his heart raced and he strained forward, needing to get this accomplished, needing to get to McKay now.

He looked so lost and alone, floating through that big empty space.

McKay blinked slowly and said, “Should work. It’s designed to be serviced by gateships.”

“Gateships! Fine! How do I get off the broken bit?”

“There’s… a coupling…” McKay stated.

For the first time since he’d seen all that blood, Sheppard started to feel as if he might actually be able to get Rodney out of this. He felt his muscles tense in anticipation of finally getting into motion – finally being able to do something to help his friend. He had to do something! “So, I get the coupling undone. How?”

“Ah, there’s a release … where the sections come together, between the double doors on the airlocks.” Rodney moved his hands, trying to illustrate the instructions. His gestures were awkward, as if he had no strength for even zero gravity.

“Yeah, go on…” Sheppard encouraged, watching Rodney carefully.

“At the junction… at four locations…there are levers. Have to pull them manually.”

“And by manually… you mean…?”

Rodney scowled. “Use your hands!”

“Great…” Sheppard grumbled. “How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don't got a big floaty oxygen-filled dome like you do.”

McKay thought for much longer than his genius brain should have taken over this predicament. “You’ll have to take a space walk,” he finally decided.

“Great…” Sheppard said again, wondering how he was supposed to manage that AND fly the jumper at the same time. He closed his eyes and groaned. Make this easier, he thought. Let me get into that thing. Let me get him out.

“There’re levers… flush with the…exterior. Get those flipped. Damaged section should float free as long as nothing… hinders it.” Rodney’s breathing was coming shallower as he spoke. “Might need to … release a … restraining cuff…”

“And I’ll be able to dock the jumper at the airlock?” Sheppard repeated. “Once I do that, I’ll be able to get in there?”

“Maybe…” McKay replied, closing his eyes.

Sheppard watched Rodney, aware of the blobs of blood that floated around him. It was so weird! Apparently Rodney had been right and had managed to reduce the worst of the bleeding, but he still bled, and was hurt and floating in a goddamn snowglobe!

“We’ll get you out,” Sheppard promised.

“You keep… saying that,” Rodney heaved out. His eyes stayed closed.

“Want to make sure you know it,” John told him. “You got that, Rodney? I’m not leaving without you.”

“I’m cold…”

“Give us a minute and I’ll turn the heat up to ‘toasty’ in the jumper. How’s that sound?”

Rodney didn’t reply. He just continued to float in the gravity-free dome.

“Rodney?” Sheppard called again – and nothing.

The jumper chirped and the HUD coming up to show an approaching ship. He turned the jumper, and found the Ironspot coming toward him. The freakish little craft was rather quick once it was under way.

“You got it moving!” Sheppard exclaimed. “Is Rix up and around?”

“No,” was Teyla’s quick response. “I am flying it.” There was a hint of pride in her declaration.

It really didn’t surprise Sheppard. “Good to see you. I can use the help,” he told them. “I got a plan.”

“McKay?” Ronon came over the radio. “We heard him talking. He okay?”

“He’s still with us,” Sheppard responded, checking the life sign detector to be sure. Under his breath, he muttered, “Stay that way.”

\-------------------------------------------

“Look,” Sheppard said, his voice coming over the Ironspot’s radio. “We got to figure out how to get out there and release the clamps. I could get into the spacesuit, but I gotta keep control of the jumper, too.”

“Spacesuit?” Rix said from his seat. “It’s in the back…”

Teyla gave Rix a strange look, and then stated over the radio, “We may have a spacesuit in the Ironspot.”

“Great,” was Sheppard’s response. “Does it work?”

Rix tried to nod, but stopped abruptly, swallowed and rubbed his aching head. “Yeah,” he responded. “Use it all the time.”

“We believe it is functional,” Teyla told Sheppard. “One of us will do this.” And she looked expectantly at Ronon.

The former runner crossed his arms at his chest, not at all happy. A glance to the addled Rix told him that the pirate wouldn’t be the one taking the chance in the spacesuit. Mills was currently covering one eye and releasing it with a perplexed expression. Teyla sat at the pilot’s seat, the one in charge of getting the Ironspot into place.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Teyla was proposing a specific someone to leave the ‘relative’ safely of their hybrid ship.

“Yeah,” Ronon replied thickly. “One of us.” Then he smiled, adding, “Whoever fits in the suit.”

“Rix,” Teyla caught the attention of the Bogachiel. “Where is the suit?”

“Suit?” he repeated, one hand over his eye.

“The spacesuit,” Ronon growled. “Where is it?”

“Why you want…?” Rix started, trailing off. He blinked at the hand he held in front of his face, baffled. A trickle of blood ran down from his hairline.

“Where is the spacesuit, Rix?” Teyla asked the concussed man, urgently.

The pirate looked at Teyla and seemed to come to his senses. He pointed to the rear compartments. Ronon went where the man directed.

“No!” Rix cried when Ronon tried one compartment. “The next one -- the cabinet with the tall door, at the back. Zeno’ll be mad if he finds out you used it.” And he squinted his eyes shut again, blinked and went back to covering his right eye and uncovering it again. “He doesn’t like people touching his stuff.”

“You sure it’s safe?” Sheppard’s voice came back over the radio.

“Safe as history,” Rix muttered.

Ronon pulled out the suit from the cabinet. It looked rather like the units he’d seen around Atlantis – but bigger and bulkier. He sighed when he saw the size of the suit. There was no doubt that it had belonged to Zeno. Teyla would never fit into the thing.

“It’ll do,” Ronon responded unhappily, knowing that there was no way around it. He took a breath, steeling himself. 

McKay’s life depended on him.

Ronon Dex had lived through trials and torment. A spacewalk would be easy.

“Mills,” Ronon called as he turned to the pirate. “You know how this goes on?”

Rix just stared at his hands, and replied with a breathless, “I don’t think I can see out of this eye.” He gestured to his right eye. “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

Ronon grumbled, but Teyla went back to assist Ronon – together they could figure it out.

Teyla helped him undo quickly seals and closures, figuring out how to close others once Ronon had pulled the suit around him. They worked quickly and efficiently as possible, with occasional comments from Rix, who managed to give them important details regarding how to ensure that the suit was completely sealed and that the oxygen was feeding correctly.

Within a matter of a minute, Ronon was ready, standing at the back of the Ironspot in the clunky suit, looking like spaceman. Now, it was just a matter of having Teyla bring the ship to the Observation Deck, getting it as close as possible to the releases that McKay had described on the central core.

Ronon looked dubious as Teyla finessed the ship. It was difficult work, and she realized she was grossly out of her element -- the controls were touchy, the maneuvering was flakey. She had to get Ronon as close as possible to the site. If she were to deposit him too far from the couplings, he might never reach them. Get in too close, and the Ironspot would collide into the deck or the central core, damaging both vessels.

She bit her lip as she shuffled the ship in, while Ronon stood in the back, clutching one side of the interior, in his big white spacesuit. His face, framed in the transparent shield of the helmet, displayed all the misery of a man who was grossly out of place.

Sheppard’s voice came over the radio, sometimes asking how they were doing, offering such helpful quips as, “See, Teyla, it’s as easy as parallel parking.” Mostly, he spoke to Rodney.

The physicist had given no response to John, but Sheppard persisted in his cajoling, and that was enough to keep Teyla trying. John’s monologue meant that Rodney was still alive, that they still had a chance to save him. She wasn’t going to give up as long as there was hope.

Just as she got the Ironspot’s hull close to the deck, she felt a presence beside her. Too intent on her own responsibility, she hardly noticed Rix as he leaned heavily on the control panel to throw a lever.

And suddenly, the Ironspot clamped onto the underside of the deck, as if magnetized. Rix grinned at her as he settled into the copilot’s seat. “Automatic mooring,” he said softly.

She let out a long breath, aware that she’d been shaking. “Thank you, Rix,” she said softly, and looked back to Ronon. The Satedan was hunched in his bulky suit, a suspicious expression evident through the mask of his helmet. She had no doubt that Dex would have clunked through the Ironspot to rip off Rix’s head if he’d attempted anything ‘funny.’

Finding that Rix wasn’t sabotaging, but helping, Dex uttered a sound that might have been a ‘thanks’, but Teyla couldn’t be sure.

The whole process had taken only minutes, but Teyla felt the weight of her responsibility, hoping that she hadn’t taken too long.

“Hey!” Sheppard’s voice came over the comm. “Teyla! How’d you do that?”

Teyla glanced at Sheppard’s jumper, pulled back just far enough to see her. “Rix turned on a automatic mooring system,” she explained.

Handy,” Sheppard proclaimed. “We could use that.”

“Suit’s got it, too,” Rix stated, closing his eyes again. “Controls are at his right hip. Glueboots. Glue you … to the floor.”

“Ronon?” Teyla called, checking to see that the Satedan had heard.

“Yeah,” Ronon’s voice came over the radio. He fiddled with the toggles that Rix had suggested, flipping one and finding his right foot cemented to the floor. He flipped it in the other direction and the foot came loose. “Got it,” he stated.

But Teyla couldn’t help but hear the trepidation in his voice. “You will be fine,” she stated emphatically.

“I’m ready,” Ronon told her, his voice even. “Got to get to McKay. Can’t waste any more time.”

Teyla nodded and stated, “I am closing the forward compartment.” And she brought down the blast door, securing the cockpit from the rest of the ship, sealing herself and Rix in with the oxygen.

“You sure that the shield will hold?” Sheppard asked.

“Sure… sure…” Rix slurred. “Works like old socks.”

Teyla regarded the comment and wasn’t sure if this was either an idiom that she’d never heard before, or a symptom of the poor Bogachiel’s scattered brains. “Are you ready, Ronon?” she called.

“Yeah,” came the response, and again Teyla heard the hesitation.

“I am decompressing the rear compartment,” Teyla announced, and with a hiss, the air was vented. 

Ronon hunched his shoulders and tried not to be alarmed.

Next, Teyla proclaimed, “I am opening the rear hatch,” and pulled on the release. The hatch lifted – exposing Ronon to space.

 

PART 14: GLUEBOOTS

Ronon could hear his own breathing as he took his first step clear of the Ironspot. A flick of a switch at his waist, and his right foot adhered to the ramp as if it had been glued there. Reluctantly, he let loose his grip on the side of the Ironspot, released his left foot and took a step. Once he was in place, he let the right foot go and took another step.

He didn’t look around. He didn’t care about the stars. He put his attention on only two things – the central core in front of him, and the toggles at his waist. It was slow going, as he moved one foot, ensured it was secure, and then released the other.

The suit was bulky and difficult. He couldn’t turn his head. When he tried, his hair got tangled up in the helmet and he grumbled at the discomfort. One dreadlock became wedged in a crack to tug at his scalp.

“How’s it going, Ronon?” Sheppard’s voice was urgent.

“Going fine,” Ronon responded.

“Planning on getting this done anytime soon,” the scolding was evident.

Ronon frowned, and tried to increase his speed. He hated this. Hated that he was forced to trust this technology. He hated that he was forced to do something he had no right doing. He hated the sound of his breathing – so loud in the suit. He hated the tightness of the contraption, the way it limited his movements. Zeno was a little shorter and broader than him, leaving Ronon compressed in the ill-fitting suit.

He hated the pulled hair. He hated his slowness, his awkwardness, his general stupidity when it came to these sorts of things.

He hated that they trusted him to do this job. He was so skilled and so sure of himself in his usual element. This was like nothing he’d ever done before. He was clumsy and slow and unsure – words rarely used in conjunction with the name ‘Ronon Dex’.

If McKay died because he wasn’t good enough – because he was slow, because he was clumsy -- he’d never forgive himself. He clicked the levers with enough force that he thought he might snap one of the devices off. Damn it, he hated this.

And as he listened to his labored breathing, he realized he was afraid.

He didn’t like being afraid.

The Satedan surged forward, flipping a switch one way and taking a step, switching the switch the other way, then toggling the other control so that the other foot might move. He stepped stiffly, keeping his head straight in the helmet. He kept his eyes on the core, drawing closer to it, step by stupid step.

“Ronon…” Sheppard called again.

Reaching out one hand, Dex stepped again and touched the side of the column. He sighed, grateful. “Made it,” he proclaimed.

“Get with it then.”

Fine. He pressed his gloved hand into the well just beneath the clamp, and pulled.

It took more effort that he had thought, but he was grateful for the glueboots that allowed him to gain some leverage. The clamp came open slowly, but once he’d gotten it started, he was able to tug it fully open.

“One done,” he proclaimed and continued his task.

“Great. Keep going.”

Dex kept moving, breathing too loudly, trying to get the hang of his own encumbered movements as he attached one foot, and then the other in his trek.

He made it a quarter of the way around the column, found the next clamp and released it with relative ease.

In his ears, he could hear Sheppard continuing his monologue to Rodney. “Hey, McKay, I’m thinking we’re going to set up that Jacuzzi when we get back to Atlantis. That’ll warm you up. Great place to meet girls, don’t you think? You have something to wear, right? Somehow I wonder if it's... you know... fit to be seen in public. Wonder where you could get a new suit? We really need a mall or a department store. We should be able to get one set up on one of the empty levels, don’t you think? Get the place stocked, import some folks from Macy’s or whatever they have in Canada. What's up there, Hudson’s Bay Company? Is everything plaid at that place? I’m just sayin’…”

It was all empty prattle – no meaning to it.

McKay said nothing, and Sheppard kept talking, “‘Cause mail order sucks when you have to wait at least month to get what you want. I had a hankering for pretzels weeks ago. Ordered them, said I needed them ‘now’ – you know, special priority! Still don’t got ‘em. That sucks. You listening to me, McKay?”

Ronon ignored the words of the harangue because puzzling their meaning would have taken too much time.

He kept moving, as quickly as he could.

“You know what’s really good? Those ‘Little Smokies’ in barbeque sauce. You’ve had that, right? Great with pretzels, by the way. But, get this, a while back, I was going to a party with this girl. It was all her friends and family, and we were supposed to bring a snack or something. I wanted to bring the Little Smokies, but all she could say was, ‘they won’t like that’ and ‘ that’s too trailer trash’, but I brought it anyway -- mostly because I had the stuff in the fridge and it was easy. Guess which appetizer was the first to go? Guys were sucking up the leftover sauce. Yeah, I don’t see the girl anymore.”

Dex lost sight of the Ironspot as he reached the third clamp, and found himself breathing harder at that thought. It felt so alone with only the stars around him. I shouldn’t be scared, he reminded himself, as he worked at the latest clamp – finding it a little harder than the other two.

“I know, I know. I couldn’t be seeing her now if I wanted to, but I mean, how could I hang with a girl who doesn’t know about how good Little Smokies are? Jeez, now I’m jonesing for some of those. Damn it! See what you’ve done to me, McKay? McKay?”

Teyla remained silent as John continued talking. Ronon was too busy to interject anything. He let Sheppard buzz in his ears. Rodney, too, was silent, even as Shepard called his name again. And that alone was entirely wrong.

When was McKay ever silent?

Ronon wrenched at the clamp with all his strength, hating the way the suit dug into his body at painful places. Hating that the hunk of stuck hair got yanked again. He was sweating, and he cursed himself for sweating when he’d only walked a few paces. And he was still breathing too hard.

“Ronon, how’s it coming?” Sheppard asked.

Ronon declared, “Nearly done.”

“You are doing fine,” Teyla encouraged.

He didn’t like this… did not like feeling so out of control. The sight of endless space made him queasy. As soon as they got back to Atlantis, he was going to head to the mainland and spend a few days with dirt beneath his feet and the sky above – yes, keep space above him, where it should be. As soon as they got McKay out of this thing…

He hissed out a breath. Why couldn’t he go faster? The suit slowed him to a ridiculous pace. His skin crawled with the knowledge that his slowness might doom McKay. He narrowed his gaze, not wanting to dwell on that, not wanting to come back to Atlantis and listen to Sheppard tell Weir, “We almost got to him in time… we were so close.”

It was getting easier to move, the rhythm of the levers combined with the movements of his feet, were becoming second nature.

“Anyway, McKay,” Sheppard went on, his voice becoming a soothing backdrop to Ronon’s journey. “If we had a mall on Atlantis, you could buy a new wardrobe. If there ever were a candidate for ‘What Not to Wear’, you’d be the one. Of course, I’m not applying to be one of the Queer Eye guys, but maybe we could work something out. Jeez, I can’t believe I’m even mentioning those shows.”

Ronon reached the fourth clamp, Sheppard droning in his ears. He’d never admit it, but John’s conversation – meant for Rodney – helped make this a bit easier. The nonsense was so commonplace that it made the whole situation a little less – otherworldly to him.

Ronon pulled the final lever as soon as he reached it, grinning that he’d managed to move faster. 

“Done!” he proclaimed. His eyes stayed on the wrecked bit of the central core.

“Hey!” Sheppard cheered over the radio. “Way to go, Ronon!”

“Excellent, Ronon!” Teyla joined in, her voice seeming to reveal that she’d never doubted him.

Ronon’s breathing continued to reverberate within the suit, as he stared at the column. Nothing had changed. “How does it come loose?” he asked.

“Give it a shove,” Sheppard suggested.

Ronon grumbled, first checking that his feet were still ‘glued’ before he reached out with both hands and gave the upper section of the column a push. He may have groaned.

The blasted bit of space station stayed put.

Disgustedly, he reported, “It isn’t moving!”

“Is there a collar or something holding it in place still?” Sheppard asked. “McKay said there might be something.”

Ronon examined the thing, and reached his gloved hands along the crack between the two sections. Yeah, there appeared to be an overlay covering the split between sections. He reached his gloved fingers into a groove, and pried. With a tug, the collar came toward him with a quick click, and he had to work the levers at his hip quickly to step back and keep from getting struck with it. Once that was loosened, he held onto the collar with one hand and gave the column another shove.

The massive piece of equipment came loose, easily, simply. The piece, probably weighing tons in a normal atmosphere, just drifted away, easily directed by a touch of the finger.

Ronon smiled. It was difficult not to feel mighty at that moment. Good… done! Time to get out of the way and let Sheppard dock the jumper. He attempted to step away from the airlock, but his foot didn’t land.

Shocked, he flipped the switch on his hip to adhere to the deck, but the boots were now a good foot above the surface of the deck. The mooring device wasn’t working. His desperate movement did nothing. He was floating free.

His breath came quickly, loud in his ears, as he lashed out a hand trying to grasp hold of the airlock, but there was no wind resistance, no friction, nothing to help him move back. He was drifting loose -- out into space. 

 

PART 15: CRANE

“I mean,” John went on, “It’s not as if I watch those sorts of shows or anything, you know – that Queer Eye thing. Alexis was hooked on those shows. Alexis – that’s the girl I was talking about. I can’t count how many decent nights were ruined by watching that crap.”

He kept talking because it was easier than keeping silent. Rodney was sprawled out now, one arm floating up over his head, the other tucked under him. A leg was bent and he was half turned on his side. The physicist no longer made the attempt to ‘fly’. He looked dead and drowned.

If John kept talking, it made things normal -- it made Rodney less pitiful in that empty dome -- it made Sheppard think his friend wasn't so damn close to being lost to them.

“And that show -- ‘Trading Spaces’. Yeah, like I’d let those morons paint my vinyl floor instead of replacing it. What the hell kind of refurb is that? They’re always painting over wallpaper or slapping some crap up and calling it art.”

Sheppard checked the Life Sign Detector again, assuring himself that Rodney still lived. McKay didn’t seem to be bleeding any longer, but he’d lost too damn much blood already. The freakish blobs festooned the space around him.

If they didn’t get to him soon… Sheppard glanced to the life sign detector again, making sure.

“I blame Alexis for my home makeover nightmares,” he continued. “Used to wake up in a cold sweat with visions of fabric swatches and paint chips dancing in my head.”

“Ronon!” Teyla’s voice, sharp and frightened, broke John’s chain of thought again.

Dex made a rather unmanly sounding noise, full of fear.

“What? What’s going on?” Sheppard asked, having pulled closer to the dome, he was blind to Ronon’s current position.

“Ronon has lost his footing!” Teyla proclaimed. “He stepped back quickly and did not engage the boots. He is floating loose!”

“This is NOT good!” Ronon exclaimed, sounding like Rodney at that moment.

”We will get you, Ronon!”

Sheppard redirected the jumper, feeling a moment of regret about leaving Rodney alone. “I’ll be back,” he promised, and brought the jumper ‘down’ to the bottom side of the observation deck. His heart sank when he saw Ronon, gliding freely. The Satedan was moving slowly but constantly away from the safety of the deck.

“Okay,” Sheppard decided quickly. “If I open the rear hatch of the jumper, I should be able to scoop him up and…”

“Wait…” Teyla came back. “Rix has an idea.”

Ronon groaned.

“What?” Sheppard demanded, getting the jumper closer. He wondered if he could just get close to Ronon and let the man grasp hold of something. But, he’d have to be damn delicate with the maneuver. One wrong move would send Ronon reeling into space. He’d catch him, eventually, of course – he had to -- but every moment lost...

“Rix says that he has what we need.”

“What? What does he have?”

Sheppard was startled when something started to move on the top of the Ironspot, and he backed the jumper, getting it out of the way, as the crane moved upward and outward, pulling itself from the roof of the Ironspot and looking rather like a waterfowl’s long neck extending.

 

\--------------------------------------

 

Teyla watched as the Bogachiel activated the system from the co-pilot seat. He slid his hands into the controls that seem to form around his arms. “This comes in handy…” he stated, blinking and lowering his head. He twisted his arms about in the controls.

On the display, a monitor lit up, showing the big crane from a better angle. The device lifted and began moving toward Ronon. The Satedan drifted, looking small and lost in the magnitude of space, surrounded by stars.

“Used it lots of time,” Rix went on. “Not everyone takes kindly to us getting on their ships, you know?” He made a short laugh and licked his lips. “Sometimes… sometimes… we need a little help getting in.”

“You are skilled at its use?” Teyla asked, hopefully.

“The best,” Rix returned, but his eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the monitor. “I can undo locks and stuff like that. Precision instrument!”

Teyla furrowed her brow. “So, why didn’t we use this to release the central core?”

Rix stopped his movements and blinked at Teyla, his pupils looking too big for his eyes. “I… dunno…” he responded. “You asked for a suit.” He offered Teyla a little smile before he returned his gaze to the monitor. “I’ll catch him.”

And he moved the arm purposefully forward, shoving it into the starry blackness and toward Ronon. The crane extended, turning about and making a graceful little gesture in order to snag hold of the man. Rix cocked his head, turning it further and further in one direction. “Got him!” he declared, opening the talon-like end of the crane and closing it, delicately.

He missed the Satedan by a good six feet.

“Oh crackers,” Rix uttered.

“Get closer!” Ronon demanded, reaching one arm out ineffectually toward the lifted crane. His voice seemed a little higher than its regular baritone. “I can’t reach it!” His trajectory didn’t change and he inched along and away.

“What are you doing in there?” Sheppard’s voice came on. “Either get that thing to work right, or I’m going to in and try to catch him with the jumper, and that might not be pretty.”

“Huh,” Rix muttered. “That should’ve been… I should’ve been spot on. Should be… okay… lemmie try again.” He wheeled the crane around, extending one section, retracting another, bending the flexible arm about, in exactly the wrong direction. Mills bit his lip, and closed his eyes a moment as if to clear his vision and continued to turn his head to one side.

And Teyla watched him with sudden understanding. If Rix couldn’t see out of one eye, then he would have no ability to judge distance. She looked in horror as the pirate maneuvered the crane about, bringing it around too fast, too close to Ronon.

“Hey!” Ronon shouted. “Hey! Watch out!”

She sprang from her chair, shoving Rix away from the controls. The pirate made a pathetic gasp as his arms fell from the slots. The crane stopped immediately, saving Ronon from being batted into deep space.

“Watch it, Mills!” Sheppard growled. “Stop messing around and catch him!”

“Wait… wait… I got it,” Rix went on. “Really, I’m good at this. I am! Let me try again!” He leaned forward, attempting to return his arms to the controls. “I want to…”

Teyla quickly divined the easiest and most efficient way to take command of the situation, to use the controls and to keep the concussed Rix from making another attempt. She slid over quickly and sat on him.

Rix made a strange little sound, more surprised than annoyed, perhaps even a little happy as the Athosian pressed her derriere into him and shoved him with her back.

“Rix cannot see well enough to use the device,” Teyla said over the radio and she grasped hold of the controls. “I will use it instead.”

Ronon continued to drift. “Teyla,” he said. “Hurrying might be good.”

“Teyla, are you sure you can handle it?” Sheppard’s voice was hard. “Seems like the device is kinda… tricky? And we really don’t have time for a learning curve.”

“I flew the Ironspot,” she returned. “I will manage this.”

Ronon would be moving out of range any moment now. She could detach the Ironspot from the Observation Deck to chase him down, but she couldn’t control both the ship and the crane at the same time – and unfortunately, Rix was in no shape to help with either.

He made a little gasp from behind her, as she pressed him into the comfy chair.

If she failed and Sheppard had to perform the task with his jumper -- it would only delay McKay’s rescue. They had to catch Ronon…and then John could get Rodney out of that place.

Rodney had been alone for too long – and nothing would feel right if they lost him.

She extended the arm, bringing it out further, following Ronon as he kept moving away. Sweat beaded at her forehead as she quickly taught herself how to use the crane, remembering how Rix had managed it. It wasn’t as easy as it looked. The crane seemed to over-react to any of her tiny adjustments.

“Teyla?” Ronon called. She could see him on the monitor, getting smaller all the time. “Teyla?”

She was thankful that she couldn’t see his face, that she didn’t see the concern, the anxiety that had to be there.

He was moving too quickly. He was getting out of range. She’d be lucky if she could grab onto one of his feet. She moved the arm into position. Yes! She could do it! She’d have his foot in a second. She found the controls for the claw at the top of the crane and tried it to ensure she understood how it would clasp.

“Don’t…” Rix called from behind her. He looked over her shoulder, his chin settled against her neck. His voice was soft as he said, “Don’t … don’t clamp onto his feet with the… claw.” He seemed to be struggling to come up with the words. “You don’t know… That thing’ll rip his… his foot right off… if you don’t do it right.”

“What did he say?” Ronon’s voice came back at her. Apparently, Rix was close enough to be easily heard over the radio.

“Calm down, Ronon,” Sheppard responded. “Teyla will get you, all safe and sound.”

“Just try to … ah… you… just need to… hook it over his foot,” Rix went on, attempting to get one arm free so he could illustrate what he wanted her to do, but he was firmly trapped with his hands in his lap, beneath a certain Athosian.

Ronon kept moving away, inch by inch.

Teyla reached out the crane, getting dangerously near Ronon’s leg. An error in her movements, and she might tap him enough to increase his speed. She stopped short and extended the end of crane, then twisted her wrist and curved the ‘talon’ around, carefully bringing the device to rest on the top of Ronon’s foot. Ronon extended the foot, ensuring that it caught, and the Satedan stopped.

Teyla let out a breath, sitting back on the pirate, and just let herself relax for a moment.

Muffled, Rix spoke softly, “Teyla… Teyla… could you…move…”

Teyla stood without really paying attention, smiling at the image on the screen – Ronon captured. She’d managed it! She’d caught him!

She never wanted to have to do that again.

 

PART 16: SNAGGED

Sheppard leaned forward in his seat, holding his breath and waited, hoping. He watched as the crane tentatively reached toward Ronon. Hurry, he encouraged silently, hurry! Get him!

Then, he let out a long, low breath when the little fingers on the end of the crane curled around, doing little more than laying at the tops of Ronon’s boot – but it was enough. The arm of the crane was fully extended, and Dex was snagged. The image that was rendered would have looked majestic if only they all hadn’t been scared out of their minds.

Thank God! Ronon was safe, now there was another that still needed help.

“I’m going in!” Sheppard stated. “Teyla, can you get Ronon in by yourself?”

“Get McKay!” Ronon’s voice came over the comm. “I’m not helpless, you know.”

“Right,” Sheppard responded, not wanting to mention how terribly vulnerable the man had looked a moment ago. He steered the jumper to the airlock, careful to avoid the delicate-looking crane and its cargo, and to maneuver around the wrecked bit of central core that still floated nearby.

As he backed up the craft, the HUD came online, showing his progress, letting him know that he was coming in square to the airlock. As the automatic system did its job, he watched the show outside his window, as Teyla slowly pulled the crane in, dragging Ronon along with it.

Once the crane was low enough, Ronon would be able to grab hold somewhere and edge his way to the open rear compartment. Sheppard couldn’t remain to see the finale.

“You’re doing great, Teyla,” Sheppard called out. “You too, Ronon.”

The Athosian didn’t respond, too busy with her responsibility, but the Satedan groaned unhappily.

The airlock latched hold of Jumper 5. There was a hiss as the pressures equalized, and finally, almost anticlimactically, he had access to the Observation Deck.

“Sure had to go a long way to get around a locked door,” Sheppard muttered as he made his way to the back of the ship.

“Rodney, leave it to you to be Mr. Perfect,” he went on over the radio. “When you lock a door, it STAYS locked. Only an exploding lady-pirate can blow a hole in your plan.”

He opened a cabinet in the jumper as the rear hatch opened onto the dome, revealing again the black field and the stars beyond. He had no time to marvel at its beauty this time.

He grabbed the first thing his hands laid on, the medical kit, and tossed it onto the back seat. He’d need that, no doubt.

“Just hang on a second, Rodney.”

It took a little digging, but he finally clasped hold of a length of rope. Excellent! There was no gravity in that dome – and they’d need a means of getting back into the jumper once all was said and done.

He glanced around within the jumper, finding a strut that would suit his purpose. He tied off one end of the rope on the structure and the other was secured at his waist. He tested the knots quickly, then, taking a fortifying breath, he stepped down the ramp.

He toed the edge of the ramp, finding where it changed – here there was gravity, and just beyond – there was nothing.

“Rodney?”

He found his target, floating in the dome. Rodney looked so goddamn strange floating like that, all catawampus and so damn lifeless -- alone.

“I’m coming. Just hang on a second.”

Ensuring that his rope tightly tied, he squatted down, holding onto on edge of the hatch doorway, then shoved off, aiming himself toward Rodney.

It was a little like doing laps in a pool, he decided. Like pushing off from the edge and gaining some distance before the real work began.

But this was nothing like swimming he realized.

It was the most remarkable feeling, to move without help of gravity, to fly, to float. He zoomed through space, stars blurring around him as he reached out. As he quickly approached McKay, he uttered a quick, “Hey, long time no see,” and he snagged hold of the hovering physicist, grasping onto one of Rodney’s arms just below the shoulder.

He didn’t even slow down as he pulled McKay along with him.

God, Rodney was cold… and pale. Jeez, how much time had passed since Rodney’d been shot?

The ‘ceiling’ of the Observation Dome was coming at them fast. Thinking quickly, Sheppard curled around McKay, holding the unresponsive physicist to his chest and arching his back to the wall. 

“Hold on,” he declared, wrapping his arms protectively around McKay’s upper body, ensuring his head was tucked against his shoulder. John expected a bone jarring impact, but they collided gently with the top of the dome and bounced back the way they’d come.

“How’s it goin’?” he asked as they continued on their flight. “You hangin’ in there?”

Sheppard kept a tight hold on his friend, as if he was afraid he’d never get to do such a thing again. He realized how embarrassing the situation might be perceived, and how Rodney would whine about compromising positions if he knew what was going on.

They’d been lucky – so damn lucky! They’d come too close to losing him. Pirates! Space Pirates! Never in a thousand years would he have thought they’d fall prey to space pirates.

Of course, he never would have figured he’d be living in another galaxy, trying to keep ahead of life-sucking vampires. He never figured he’d spend his days flying about in spaceships and jumping from planet to planet through wormholes. He never imagined himself floating through a giant dome, gliding free of gravity, clutching the smartest man in two galaxies to his chest.

Never thought that this genius would have ended up as his best friend.

So damn close to losing him.

“Nice view,” Sheppard commented as he gazed at the panorama.

Rodney said nothing in response. Sheppard brought a hand to his cool neck, and felt for a pulse. Rodney’s heartbeat seemed far too fast. There was no flicker of regaining consciousness.

The chill might have been a benefit, Sheppard realized glumly, might have helped keep Rodney from bleeding out.

So damn close – and Sheppard realized that they weren’t out of the woods yet.

“You know,” Sheppard stated, “this is all kinda cool. I mean, if they had a ride like this at Disneyland, I’d be the first one in line. It’s like a giant bounce-house. Remember those when we were kids? Kinda fun, but all the same, I think it’s time we went home. What do you say?”

He gave Rodney a little jiggle, and the man seemed to nod.

“Great! Agreement! Let’s get the hell out of here.”

He kept Rodney pressed against him, and started pulling himself back to the ship, pulling the rope hand over hand. It was rather easy, he decided. He much preferred this means of carrying an injured man. He didn’t even have to hold onto Rodney, just keep pulling himself toward the jumper and Rodney was pushed along with him.

“It should be like this every time I have to haul your sorry ass somewhere,” Sheppard declared, but remembered other times and didn’t like it. Rodney had been hurt too frequently, had been carried home over someone’s shoulder often enough.

Rodney would survive, Sheppard promised himself. He’d get the Canadian back to Atlantis in no time, have Beckett look him over. The good doctor would add a quart or two of 10W/40, do a filter change, check the fluids, and all would be fine.

“You might get stuck in the infirmary for a bit, McKay, but they got all the Jell-o you could want there. Might even have some of the blue stuff around. If you're good -- maybe even a pudding cup. Depends on when the Daedalus last showed up. When were they here last, Rodney? Seems like it’s been a while.”

Sheppard knew McKay was ‘out of it’ when a question was posed, yet no answer received.

“All the Jell-o you can poke down your pie-hole,” Sheppard reiterated as he tugged them toward the jumper. “You’ll be like a prince in Gelatin Land. I hope they bring the pretzels I ordered. Think there’s a chance of them bringing Little Smokies and a jar of barbeque sauce? I’m not asking for much.” And then he pressed one foot to the ramp of the jumper and gravity came back to him, pressing down with all of Rodney’s weight.

He gasped, trying to grab hold of McKay before the man crashed to the floor, but was only able to lessen the blow as they collapsed together.

Gravity was a harsh mistress.

“Damn it!” he grumbled, staggering off of Rodney and quickly rolling McKay onto his back. He felt for a pulse again. Still alive! Then, pulled McKay the last few feet up the ramp and into the rear of the jumper.

He was panting from the short exertion. Even walking to the ramp control seemed difficult as he got used to dealing with gravity again. Damn it! He’d only been free of it for a few minutes! Suck!

He raised the hatch, closing off the beautiful dome of stars, and sealing the ship.

“Colonel?” Teyla called plangently. “Colonel?”

He realized that she’d probably been calling for some time. “I got him,” he declared as he took a few steps to reach the pilot’s seat. He glanced to the Ironspot, finding the crane retracted and Ronon no longer floating about. “Looks like you got your guy, too?”

“Yes, Colonel,” Teyla responded brightly. “He is well.”

“Don’t ask me to do that again,” Ronon growled over the comm.

Sheppard chuckled, as he freed the jumper from the dock, and gave the ship a little juice so that it moved away from the Observation Deck. Beside him, Teyla removed the automatic mooring and the Ironspot drifted alongside him.

“How is Rodney?” Teyla asked urgently.

Sheppard sighed. “I’m just going to check on him now.” He left the pilot's chair and moved to the rear of the jumper, grabbing the medical bag and falling to his haunches beside his friend. There was a lot of blood, it had saturated the clothing on Rodney’s side -- the lack of gravity had sending the stain in weird directions.

Sheppard pulled the shirt away from McKay’s hip, quickly revealing the bullet wound. It still seeped unpleasantly. Damn it!

Rodney was too damn pale. His pulse was too fast. Sheppard pulled a dressing from the bag and applied it quickly and expertly to the wound, hoping it would help keep the rest of Rodney’s blood inside of him. He pressed down hard, wishing the pain would get Rodney to respond to him, but Rodney managed nothing more than a disquieting sigh.

”You’re going to be fine,” Sheppard demanded. “I’m not going to put up with you doing anything other than that, you got it?” He checked the wound, wondering if he’d done any good. And ripped a fresh dressing from its packaging and did his best to tie the bandage around Rodney’s waist. “Damn inconvenient place to get shot,” he muttered as he worked. “There, got you patched up for now,” he declared.

“Hang on.” He shucked off his jacket and balled it up. Carefully, he lifted Rodney’s head and settled the jacket as a pillow. “You’d better stop bleeding because if you get this jacket stained, I’ll have your ass. Do you know how hard it is to get anything dry cleaned here?”

He frowned, feeling the chill of Rodney’s pale skin.

He stood and ripped open another cabinet, toppling most of the contents onto the floor as he brought down the half-buried emergency blankets. “After all the trouble we went through, you better stick around. That’s all I got to say.” He unfurled one blanket and tucked it quickly around his friend. “We even got Ronon stuffed into a spacesuit if you can imagine that. I’m sure you’re going to want to discuss your shared experiences with him.”

“So,” Ronon’s voice came at him, “he going to be okay?”

Sheppard grimaced, working the other blanket around Rodney. “If we get him back to Beckett,” he stated. “Now.”

“Then we will go… now,” Teyla replied.

Sheppard stood. “Yeah,” he agreed. There was little more he could do at the moment. He wished he could get McKay up on the cushioned bench seat, but he didn’t want to lift him with ‘full on’ gravity, and he figured the less he moved the Canadian, the better.

He gave McKay another look, then dropped down beside him. “Look,” he said softly. “We saved your toys. You’re going to want to play with them. You’re going to make it, ‘cause I don’t know… I don’t know how to do this without you around to give me grief all the time.”

Rodney said nothing, so, after giving him a pat on the shoulder, Sheppard stood and hurried to the pilot seat again. He dropped into it and touched the controls. “Okay then,” he stated. “We’re going home.”

He guided the jumper forward, putting more power behind. The Ironspot followed – slower because Teyla was still learning how to control it.

He watched the other ship on the HUD, wondering if it would even fit through the gate. It seemed to have a wider girth than the jumper, but it may have been an optical illusion. It had a DHD didn’t it? The length was a problem though – the crane extended the ship quite a bit and he wondered if it would fit into the Gateroom. Plus, there was the possibility that the ship had some sort of a tracking system. Hadn’t they found some devices hidden in the treasure haul they’d found on PX1-H0H?

And there was Rix to worry about. They didn’t need another outsider knowing about the continued existence of Atlantis – not that half the galaxy didn’t seem to already know.

He spoke over the radio, as he adjusted the temperature in the jumper, “Look, I’m heading home. You might want to take the Ironspot… and our guest… elsewhere?”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Ronon returned. “We’ll do it. The little guy isn’t looking too good though. He isn’t talking anymore. Might want to have someone give him a look.”

“Yeah, we can make that happen.” After he’d gotten Rodney to the infirmary, of course.

“I believe we should go to P7M-557,” Teyla decided. “Major Lorne is currently at that site, inspecting the area and considering the Gate for removal in the bridge project. I believe he has a medic with his team.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

They were going to make it! They even had a plan for dealing with the alien tech and the… alien. Drop the Ironspot off at P7M-557, and let the scientists poke at it all they wanted. Within a month all the jumpers could be fitted with shields and mooring devices and whatever else they wanted to install. Sheppard just hoped the final result didn’t look quite so crappy as the Ironspot – because – he really didn’t care for crappy.

If there was a tracking device on the Ironspot, fine. Just as long as no one was able to find Atlantis by following it. As for Rix… well, that might be trickier. They’d just drop him somewhere harmless.

They sped back toward the ringed planet, its backlit moons coming into view. John pulled further ahead of the Ironspot, ready to dial up Atlantis.

“See, McKay,” he spoke to his passenger. “We got it all figured out. It’s all fine. You’re going to be okay. You got that? We’re almost home.”

Finally, as they rounded the gas giant, there was the Gate. He smiled… for a moment.

And Sheppard’s jaw dropped in disbelief as he stared. The Gate was engaged.

Crap! Crap Crap crap! Not now… God, we do NOT need to deal with the Wraith NOW!

“Teyla, Ronon, turn back!” John shouted as he brought the jumper to a sudden halt. "We got guests!"

And then something emerged from the event horizon. He brought up the cloak.

Ships -- but instead of darts, a series of vessels emerged – each a little different than the other – each of them built on the same apparent base – each of them looking a little too much like the Ironspot. Five, ten, a dozen materialized from the blue.

Crap… holy crap…

The armada of ships angled around, fell into formation, and then turned toward jumper. Sheppard directed the jumper out of their way, to let them pass him so that he could get in behind them. They followed his movements.

What the hell? They were heading right at him! Sheppard double-checked to ensure that cloak engaged. Son of a bitch! They can see me!

His only hope now was that the Ironspot was far enough back to escape unnoticed. He glanced toward Rodney at the back of the jumper, beneath the pile of blankets, still as death.

“Sorry, buddy,” he muttered. “I’m so damn sorry.” He swallowed, as his mind raced, trying to figure a way out of this.

A voice rang through the com system, “We are the Bogachiel! Prepare to be boarded.”

 

PART 17: WEAPON

Teyla slowed the Ironspot and searched the control panel. “Rix,” she called, her voice barely a whisper. “Rix, how do we initialize the shield system?”

Rix said nothing, sitting forward in the seat with his head in his hands.

“Rix!” she called again. “The cloak… and the shields?” but the pirate was quiet again, his eyes unfocused.

The gas giant still hid them from the Bogachiel fleet, and if they were lucky, they could keep the big planet between them and the armada – but Sheppard and McKay were in the open, had been spotted.

“We’re not going to hide,” Ronon growled from behind her, trying to free himself from the rest of Zeno’s spacesuit. He’d already managed to rip out a few of his dreads with the removal of the helmet, and the rest of the procedure wasn’t making him any happier.

Teyla was already bringing the Ironspot forward, determined to do whatever she could to get her team home.

All her life, Teyla had heard stories about the Bogachiel – the pirates that robbed the good people of their riches, took their technology.

All her life, she’d thought they were only legends, stories told by the elders by the fireside to scare the little ones into treating their property with greater respect. “Forget your things outside, and the Bogachiel will snatch them away in the night.”

The pirates were, if anything, an alternative to their horrors of the life-sucking Wraith. The Bogachiel wanted only ‘stuff’, things that one could part with. The pirates had a propensity to take things that were shiny – gold, silver, jewels – or bits of ancient technology – things that her people had little use for anyway. They were known to be killers, marauders, but their penchant for pretties made them rather like the dark-colored birds that picked up shiny things. It made the Bogachiel, in a way, ridiculous.

They were ghosts, shadows of history, weren't they? Had they just been in hiding all these years? Or had they always been around, flitting around the edges of civilized life? Or maybe blending in, hiding in plain sight.

She jetted the Ironspot forward, sliding around the gas giant with its beautiful rings. The molten colors of the gasses swirled beneath them like a great sea as they came in view of the Gate, the jumper and the Bogachiel flotilla.

From behind her, Ronon saw the same sight, and paused in his attempts to remove his glueboot.

At least a dozen oddball Ironspots were closing in on Jumper 5. Apparently realizing that he’d been spotted and had taken down his cloaking device. Instead of firing, Sheppard’s ship took a sudden dive, and shimmied, trying to evade the approaching ships.

“What’s he doing?” Ronon asked. “Shouldn’t Sheppard be blowing things up?”

Teyla heaved out a sigh, realizing that the colonel was probably just doing his best to survive at the moment, knowing that the rest of his team was right behind him without any weapons. If he started a firefight now, the safety of both their ships would be in peril. The Bogachiel hadn’t fired yet, so maybe there was a chance that this would end peacefully.

“He’s… testing them,” Teyla decided. “Trying to gain some advantage.”

Ronon gave Rix a punch in the arm, demanding, “We got shields, don’t we? How do we get them on?”

Rix just turned to him slowly, lifting his head see him. He blinked, stupidly, his pupils too big for his head. “Zeno?” he asked softly.

Ronon grumbled in return, tossing the glueboots to the back of the ship with more force than was necessary. “Let’s get in there,” Ronon decided.

Teyla, agreeing, brought the Ironspot closer.

The radio crackled. Apparently their ship had been spotted as well, as an unfamiliar voice called out, “Rix? Is that your ship?”

Mills stiffened at the sound of that voice, and a tremble ran through him as he pressed himself further into the comfy seat. “Ostego…” he breathed out, his voice filled with fear. “He’s here?”

“Rix!” the voice called again. “What are you doing? How’d you get your ship flying?”

Jumper 5 peeled away, ducking and dodging and careening through the hybrid ships as they attempted to hem him in. They hadn’t fired their weapons yet – probably hadn't tried to lock onto him -- and John, realizing he was outnumbered, must have been waiting them out.

The ships seemed intent on herding the Jumper, moving it into the center of their group, containing it.

Teyla’s personal radio sounded in her ear as the Ironspot’s radio continued to relay comments from the others. “Teyla, Ronon,” Sheppard called softly. “You guys got shields?”

“No, Colonel,” Teyla said softly, as if anything above a whisper would be picked up by the Ironspot’s radio. “And we are without weapons.” But even as she said that, she remembered something.

“Wortley! Zeno!” Ostego’s voice raged over the Ironspot’s radio. “What is going on!?”

Rix brought his hands to his temples, rubbing them gently. “Wortley?” he softly echoed the name, blinking toward Teyla.

Teyla set her jaw, made a decision, and turned on her radio. She uttered in an almost comically deep voice, “This is Wortley! You’re attacking our prisoner!”

Rix looked surprised, and behind him, Ronon’s face filled with a wide grin.

“Stop your assault! We have the situation under control!” Teyla continued, her voice at a gravelly growl.

Ostego questioned, “Captured the Ancestor’s ship all by yourselves, did you, Wortley?”

“Yes, we have it under our control,” Teyla insisted, and the jumper slowed its attempts to escape. “It is you that have caused this problem. You may… back off.”

“We’ll see,” Ostego commented. “Hold up,” he commanded the other ships. “Let’s see what’s going on here.”

The hybrid ships reduced their herd-dog gyrations, and the jumper slowed to a stop in their midst.

“Hailing Ancient vessel,” Teyla called, a bark in her voice. “Has the ship or its contents been damaged?”

John’s drawl came over the comm., “Damaged? The ‘contents’ aren’t getting any better, that’s for sure. I was really hoping we could put an end to this situation soon.” His voice snapped out the last words.

“We were escorting the vessel to …” and Teyla’s voice trailed a moment as she tried to come up with something quick.

“Trinway,” Rix offered, his voice soft, but his face still taut with fear.

Ronon offered a quick nod, recognizing the planet name – a shady place famous for building all things ‘mechanical’. Ronon leaned toward the radio, stating, “We’re taking the gateship to Trinway for refitting.”

“Zeno?” Ostego called, his voice crackling over the ship’s poor communication system. “that you?”

“Yeah!” Ronon shot back, trying not to sound flustered, hoping the comm. system was bad enough to hide his identity. “This is Zeno.”

“Where’s Rix?”

Ronon gave Mills a hard shove with his knuckle. The pirate piped up with a quick, “I’m here!”

“How’d you get the Ancestors’ ship? Who’s piloting it?” Ostego questioned as his fleet hovered around them. A ship came near the Ironspot, close enough so that they could nearly see inside.

Teyla sunk into her seat, hoping that they didn’t look too carefully into the cockpit. Ronon moved back, getting out of view. Rix was sitting forward again, his elbows on the console, chin resting on his hands. With any luck the observers would see only the ‘pilot’ – and not notice that he was in the copilot’s position. Apparently they didn’t look too closely because the ship continued on its way.

“Their ship docked at the station for repairs,” Teyla told them. “We took command. They have a man who can fly it.”

“Yeah, I’m the man,” Sheppard voice came over. “I’m just doin’ what they tell me… and hoping we get over this … soon?”

“Who is this?”

“No one… just a detainee. Trying to fly a ship… and you know… wanting to get out of here.” Sheppard sounded more than annoyed.

“Wortley, you left their people alone on their own ship?” Ostego was apprehensive. “Where they have access to all their systems?”

“They don’t dare disobey,” Ronon cut into the conversation again, his voice sounding odd as he tried to replicate Zeno’s voice. “We’ll destroy the ship if they step out of line.”

“Zeno, you idiot!” Ostego’s voice returned. “You will NOT damage the ship! I’d hoped Wortley or maybe even Rix had more sense! We need the ship!”

Frowning at the assertion, Ronon said quietly, “It wasn’t my idea.”

“You should be grateful!” Teyla spat over the radio. “We have captured a ship of the Ancestors, and a pilot!” She glanced at Ronon, saying, “We are proceeding as we feel is best.”

“Wortley, sometimes I think Rix is the only one of you with a brain.”

The baffled redhead turned his head at this comment and blinked as if he had no idea what was going on.

“Rix, turn your ship back to the station,” Ostego ordered. “I will escort the Ship of the Ancestors to Trinway.”

“We are the ones who captured the ship,” Ronon shot back. “We deserve the spoils.”

Ostego’s voice hardened. “You will return to the station, where your ship will be searched and we’ll find exactly what you took with you. Zeno, how much of MY property is in your possession?”

Ronon curled his lip, and opened his mouth to respond. Teyla sighed, wondering what Bogachiel would have to say when they found what was left of their space station and their ‘property’.

Ostego went on, “Gateship, prepare to be escorted.”

Urgently, Teyla turned to Rix, asking, “How do we access the ship’s weapons! Where are the weapon systems?”

Whether it was the concussion, or the fear of Ostego, Rix just stared out through the windshield, his jaw a little slack, and his eyelids at half-mast.

Teyla sighed, realizing that it’d do no good to press the man. She swiveled in her seat. “Ronon! There are torpedo tubes along the floor. Did Rodney show you anything about them while he was working?”

“Yeah,” Ronon responded, stepping into the rear of the ship. “Was poking around in them. I wasn’t listening… much. Just have to pull up these panels, then there’s a port to open them up and load ‘em. Just got to figure out what to put in ‘em.”

Teyla bit her lip, remembering that Rodney had told her that there didn’t seem to be any ammunition aboard.

Ronon gazed about the back of the Ironspot, searching for something… and his eyes lit upon their packs, bulky with what they contained. A smile broke across his face, and he glanced to Teyla.

She returned the look with an even glance, and inclined her head.

Teyla toggled her radio again, stating clearly, “You will back away from the Ancestor’s ship and allow us clear passage to the Ring.” She paused for only a moment before she added, “We have an explosive onboard, powerful enough to destroy us all. If you do not let us go, we will fire it.”

 

PART 18: DERVISH

Sheppard skin was crawling. He was furious. This ‘sitting around doing nothing’ was killing him, as surely as the wasted time was killing McKay. The Bogachiel ships seemed to be toying with him. All of his best moves had been thwarted so far. They hadn’t fired at him, but he was damn close to opening a can of whoop-ass on them.

He put his trust in Ronon and Teyla, hoping that the two could fast-talk their way past the pirate fleet. But, it just wasn’t working out. The man called ‘Ostego’ seemed highly suspicious.

“Nothing is easy, is it, McKay,” Sheppard groaned as he watched the ships huddle near him. Any attempt at wending his way through them could be countered. Damn it. “Can’t ever get a decent break. We escape an exploding space station, catch Ronon before he floats off to nowhere, get you out of a locked up dome of doom, just to get harassed by space pirates.”

He glanced back to Rodney, to ensue that he was okay. The scientist didn’t move, covered in blankets at the rear of the ship. John picked up the Life Sign Detector to ensure that Rodney was still with him. He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Hang in there, Rodney,” Sheppard muttered. “We’ll get through this.”

Space Pirates suck, he decided. And if these buccaneers were planning to delay them any longer, he’d just have to punch his way through them. He had a full complement of drones -- that ought to take out half of those ships.

But, if he were to make a run for it to save Rodney, then Teyla and Ronon would be left to the mercy of the pirates. Teyla didn’t have the experience to outmaneuver the skilled pilots. They didn’t have weapons and didn’t know how to engage the shield. He had only so many drones. His teammates would be like sitting ducks. Damn it! Damn it!

And then Teyla said, “We have an explosive onboard, powerful enough to destroy us all.”

Oh … crackers. Sheppard felt his blood run cold. Had they just gone insane? Not the ZPM! “You’ve got to be kidding…” he said out loud.

But they wouldn’t try to fire a half-used ZPM into space, would they? He frowned, realizing that something was up… because, well, they wouldn’t have revealed their hand so easily unless…

Well, if they wanted the Bogachiel to get the heebie jeebies, it was time to amp things up a bit.

Sheppard drew a deep breath, then shouted out, “You have NO idea how much power is in that thing. One wrong move and you’ll go up like a bomb when you try to fire it. This is not a good idea. This is suicide! It’ll evaporate everyone here, and take out a moon or two with it. Might even light up this big gassy planet, too."

"We know what we are doing,” Ronon snarled. “Ostego! Either back off your ships or we’ll open fire.”

There was a pause, and then Ostego’s voice came back, “Who are you?”

“Either remove your ships from the immediate area, or we will fire the weapon,” Teyla restated.

“You shame me,” Ostego came back. “You cannot fool a Bogachiel. Fire your weapon.”

“You leave me no choice,” Teyla responded.

John watched as the torpedo tubes opened at the bottom of the ship. Without a sound, the bomb shot out from under it.

The missile headed for one of the nearest ship. In a panic, the pilot pressed his ship to get away from the weapon’s trajectory. It dodged ‘downward’, in such haste that it couldn’t avoid the ship ‘below’. The two ships slammed into each other, their shields rippling in rainbows, and they rolled in opposite directions.

“Nice distraction,” Sheppard said to himself, sending the jumper into motion, drawing ships with him. He spun about, turning ass over teakettle, as the Bogachiel fleet opened fire on him. 

Good enough, he thought as he shot off a couple of drones into the mess of Bogachiel ships.

Two ships lit up like Chinese lanterns before they flew to pieces. Sheppard ducked under the mess, bringing the chasing ships with him.

Shards of light flashed past him as the ships tried to take him down. Debris flew everywhere, spinning away from the catastrophe. A piece struck one of the chasing ships. The shields protected it, but didn’t save it from twirling about like a Dervish at the impact. 

To avoid collision, two other ships darted away. One clipped into its brothers, sending them into spins of their own.

The still viable ships went on the attack, firing as the jumper dodged. Sheppard zoomed in close to a disabled ship and could see the pirates behind the windshield, gesturing angrily. He cut close, and dove blindly around the destruction, the HUD pointing out the safe route through the jetsam.

The chasing ships weren’t so endowed, and when they came about, they ran into the field of floating bits, sending them dodging to avoid it, and smack into each other. They clashed, shield to shield, and went all wobbly. Two more drones took out ships that faced him.

Through the commotion, the Ironspot threaded its way.

And, the Ironspot’s terrible weapon still continued its course, sending more Bogachiel ships floundering to get away from it. Sheppard caught a good look at the bomb as he flew through the group, doing the best he could to further scatter the ships. He let out a short laugh as he recognized the missile – brown with white stitching, imprinted with a white “Wilson”, the football spiraled through space toward the unknown.

He took off after the Ironspot as the remaining Bogachiel fleet tried to unravel itself from the chaos. He chased down his companions, quickly overtaking them and making a beeline to the Gate. The remaining whirling Bogachiel ships regrouped and took off after them.

“You will stop!” Ostego shouted.

“We will not,” Sheppard uttered in return, a little sorry that they hadn’t managed to take out the leader.

John realized that they’d been able to get some distance behind them. Yes! They were going to make it! Sheppard, pressing the jumper to quicker speeds, reached over the DHD and started punching in the address of P7M-557. He wasn’t about to lead the Bogachiel to Atlantis.

Success was in their grasp. He pressed in the last key and held his breath, awaiting the formation of the wormhole.

Nothing happened. “Son of a…!” he cried, looking in disbelief at the DHD.

No…no… no!

Goddamn scientists and their goddamn overcautious fears that DHDs wouldn’t work when hit just ONCE with a football. Damn it! He’d never live this down – if they lived through this.

He glanced back to Rodney, hoping he didn’t witness this failure, even as he wished he’d see his friend sitting up and laughing at him.

“Ironspot!” he called over the radio. “Dial it!”

With a sigh of relief, Sheppard watched as the chevrons lit, and a blue whoosh came over the Gate. “Here we go, Rodney,” he declared, glancing to the Life Sign Detector for assurance as the wormhole formed. He let out a sigh of relief as his jumper dove through the Gate with the Ironspot behind him.

He shot through, screaming the jumper through the atmosphere of P7M-557. The wormhole closed almost instantly, shutting out their pursuers. 

John’s grin grew all the wider. “Made it!” he declared. “We made it!” John let loose a breath, surprised at how calming… how nice it was to hear the jumper again. He’d missed the sound of it flying through the air and enjoyed the roar of the Ironspot.

He brought the jumper around slowly, watching below as the group of scientists and Marines came out of the cover of the trees. The group looked up with curiosity. They made faces at the strange ship that came alongside him, engines racing.

Sheppard nodded across to Teyla and Ronon, glad to see that they'd made it.

It was time to go home. He took another moment to glance back at his cargo. Just to make himself feel better, he picked up his Life Sign Detector one more time to make sure that Rodney was still with him.

His heart skipped a beat when only one dot was displayed.

 

PART 19: SPITE

“Rodney!” There was no response… nothing. God, no! John wanted to jump out of his seat and go to his friend, do everything he could to revive him, but they were still in flight. He had two choices… go through the Gate and wait through the landing process -- or land on a planet with minimal medical help. There was a medic, wasn't there? Was that enough?

“Damn it! Damn it!” Over the radio, he barked, “Ironspot, Dial Atlantis!”

On the ground below, scientists gathered, looking up at them. 

“You stupid, asshole!” Sheppard growled as he glanced back at McKay’s form, under all those blankets. “You’re just doing this to spite me, aren’t you, McKay!”

One dot on the life signs detector… still only one dot. “Not now,” Sheppard wibbled. “Not when we’re so damn close!” And he gave his DHD a disgruntled smack as the Gate lit up under the Ironspot’s direction. "No...no..."

“Colonel, what sort of ship did ya bring with you? I’ve never seen the like before.”

The familiar Scottish brogue coming through the radio almost brought tears to Sheppard’s eyes. “Carson!” he cried. “Thank God.” It would take too long to get the jumper through the gate and into the jumper bay where they could finally get help. Rodney was dying. They had only seconds, and the best doctor in the galaxy was standing beneath him – Sheppard was never one to pass up an opportunity.

“Beckett, you’re coming with me, NOW!”

“Am I then?” Carson replied. “Right!” Sheppard could see the doctor running through the clearing, obviously trying to find a place to meet up with the jumper once it landed. God, how he loved Beckett. No talking back – the man just understood, and came running.

“Rodney’s heart’s stopped,” Sheppard explained urgently as the wormhole whooshed to life, and he brought the jumper down fast, landing it with one hell of a thump, and John opened the hatch. “Second ago. It’s only been seconds.”

Over the radio, Teyla said only, “John…” .

The doctor was running to him, medical gear in hand, leaping into the back of the jumper before the rear hatch was fully opened. One of his nurses was right behind him, carrying whatever gear she could lay her hands on.

“Doc, am I ever glad to see you!” Sheppard exclaimed.

“Corporal Randal had a bit of an accident,” Beckett explained breathlessly as he came in. “Broke his leg. I was setting it and…Good God in heaven.”

Carson started yelling orders as he felt for Rodney’s pulse. Sheppard tried to move from his seat to start artificial respiration, but a medic had come in as well. Between Beckett, Maria and Deroche, they had McKay surrounded – breathing for him, trying to start his heart.

A couple of Marines came in as well, ready to add whatever assistance they could, crowding the rear of the jumper. Outside, the Ironspot roared as it came down, landing roughly nearby.

“Shot. He got shot…” Sheppard explained as Beckett worked.

The medic breathed for Rodney. Beckett went back to compressions as Deroche moved out of his way.

“Colonel Sheppard? Ronon?” Weir’s voice came over the radio. “We received Ronon’s IDC and nothing more. Is there a problem?”

“Hell of a problem,” Sheppard muttered unhappily.

Beckett replied for him, calling out orders, telling his staff what they needed, what to have ready. His voice was steady as he exerted himself.

As Beckett spoke to Weir, Sheppard called softly, “Come on, Rodney. Don’t be an ass! You’re really fucking up my day.”

Beckett’s gaze flicked up at him, understanding the exclamation. “Get us back, John,” he ordered the colonel. “Get us back.”

“Hang on!” Ronon called from just outside the door. He raced up the ramp, with Rix slung over his shoulder and Teyla right behind him.

Sheppard opened his mouth to counter Ronon’s decision to bring the pirate along, but Dex was already settling the unresponsive Mills on one of the bench seats.

“Go,” Ronon declared.

Teyla stood just inside the doorway, finding what little room was left. The hatch nearly slapped her rear as it came up. Her solemn gaze switched from McKay, being worked over by three people, to Ronon, who seemed unusually gentle with his handling of Rix, to Sheppard as he fired up the ship.

Without another word, Sheppard lifted the jumper from the ground and sent it toward the open Gate, “Atlantis,” he called, “this is Sheppard. We’re coming in.”

Beckett kept rattling off what he needed from his staff. Maria was ripping at the Velcro on the defibrillator. It started to whine.

\--------------------------

The return to Atlantis was chaotic. Beckett had managed to restart Rodney’s heart on the short journey from the gateroom to the bay, a victory for everyone.

Rodney was breathing on his own, still looking as sick as hell. The tension didn’t ease from John’s back and he felt as if he might break the controls as he waited for the automatic system to bring the jumper to a rest.

The heart monitor bleeped, but John picked up the Life Sign Detector and carefully counted the dots, ensuring that there was one for each of them.

Beckett hissed empathetically as he pulled back the dressing from the wound. “How long?” he asked. “How long ago was he shot?”

Sheppard looked at him, bleary eyed, unable to even comprehend the question. How much time had passed? He had no idea exactly. It wasn’t that long, all things considered. It only seemed like a lifetime.

“He was trapped. We couldn’t reach him,” John responded. His voice tight and remarkably even.

“Got to him as quick as we could,” Ronon stated defiantly.

“We did good work,” Teyla added. “We all did.” She even glanced to Rix, who was motionless and pale, with Ronon standing protectively above him. The Bogachiel had saved them during the explosion, and his complete unresponsiveness had frightened them once they landed the Ironspot.

Beckett watched the heart monitor, his face drawn, but hopeful now. He smiled, but only slightly. “Hang in there, Rodney,” he said softly. The monitor kept beeping. “That’s right, you daft man, I know you don’t give up on anything.”

“He is obstinate,” Teyla added.

“Aye, that he is,” Carson said, his smile growing as the monitor continued to return good news. “A mulish man, if there ever was one.” Beckett’s face dropped as he regarded the result as Maria took Rodney’s blood pressure.

The doctor started an IV, handing the bag of fluid to Sgt. Cunningham to hold. The Marine had been standing stiffly beside the group, and looked relieved to have something to do, even if it meant he’d simply be acting as an IV stand.

Beckett looked up to see how much longer they had before the jumper came to a stop in the bay, and then turned to see the others in the ship. His gaze lit on Rix. “What’s happened to him then?” he asked, curiously.

“Hit his head a while back,” Ronon replied, “Seemed okay, just a little… confused. When we landed, he was slumped over. Can’t wake him.”

“We’ll take a look at him,” Beckett promised. “See what can be done to put him right.”

Ronon nodded in response.

The jumper finally came to a halt in the bay. John lifted the hatch, and a gurney came up the ramp. Beckett was shouting instructions again, ordering another gurney, giving directives over the radio to those waiting for them in the infirmary.

John did nothing as the medical unit swarmed in, collected Rodney and all the stuff that was attached to him, then they swarmed back out. The gurney wibble-wobbled through the open space of the jumperbay at their rapid exit. Beckett ran alongside, with Maria, Deroche and Cunningham who still played the part of IV stand.

Ronon waited a moment, and seeing that the second gurney hadn’t yet arrived, picked up Rix, carefully slung him over the shoulder, and went after the others.

Sheppard hoped the other gurney caught up with them – Ronon’s carrying method was hardly the best way to transport a man with a head injury.

And then the once crowded jumper was almost empty again. Just wrappers and the abandoned defibrillator was left – and the torn, bloody shirt that they’d cut off Rodney. Sheppard gazed at the mess, feeling ineffectual, as if he’d managed to do nearly nothing during all of this.

“John,” Teyla called softly, drawing his attention.

“Yeah,” he drawled in return. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that I did the best I could and that we got him back here in time. You’re going to tell me that Beckett’s the best and that Rodney’s going to be okay. Everything is going to be just fine, right?”

She smiled at him, but there was a tightness around her eyes. “I was going to tell you that I was frightened,” she admitted. “I was going to tell you that I was so scared.”

Sheppard sighed, and for a moment neither did anything, simply standing together in the rear of the jumper. Finally, Sheppard stooped to pick up his pack. 

“Come on,” he said with a smile as he slung the bag over his shoulder. “Let’s see if McKay is giving the nurses any grief yet.” And together they exited the jumper. 

 

\--------------------------

He remembered the stars. He dreamed of them, dreamed of floating among them. It was a sweet sensation, and as he drifted. He never wanted to leave them. He was floating among the stars, knowing everything there was to know about them, yet finding them fresh and new and perfect.

It was a lovely dream.

But things started to change. First of all, there was an irritating beeping that crept into his consciousness, the sharp smell of antiseptics, a dull pain, and then the buzzing of voices – sometimes very near him. People seemed to be talking to him, and he should have been irritated by it. He should have been annoyed by the voices that were breaking into his perfect dream of space. He should have blotted them out to allow his flight to continue – but instead he found himself drawn to the sounds, listening intently, trying to define exactly what was being said.

At first it was just a muddled mess, but after a time he was able to pick out bits of the conversation.

“It’s a television program. You remember what I told you about television programs, right?”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Okay, so it’s this show where this bunch of guys break into another guy’s house, mess up his stuff, throw all his furniture and clothing in the trash. Then they make him wear weird clothing, shave him, force him to cook for others, then put him on display to his friends and family.”

There was a feral growl and, “It is a demonstration of utter humiliation.”

“I think it was just the Stockholm Syndrome at work, so… I don’t get it anyway.”

“And you watched this television program?”

“I was kinda forced to. Wasn’t my idea.”

“Who forced you to view this… program.”

“My girlfriend… yeah, yeah, don’t say it.”

He wanted to laugh, but just couldn’t find the strength to do so. God, he was pathetic.

“Hey, is he waking up? McKay?”

“He was breathing different.”

“Rodney? You in there, buddy?”

“Maybe just dreaming.”

“Yeah… wish he’d just give it up and WAKE UP!”

“Let him sleep.” Something patted him rather roughly on the leg. “Been through enough.”

"He's doing this purposefully. I bet he's just listening."

"Sure."

“He’s a pain in the ass, you know that? You hear that, McKay? I got things I could be doing.”

Someone snorted a laugh. “Yeah… I’m sure you do…”

The voices grew fuzzy. The words became disconnected from their meaning, and he drifted for a while after that. He was back with the stars – pinpoints of light so bright, they almost hurt his eyes. And he drifted, detached and numb. He loved the stars.

Words became clearer again, less of a buzzing – more meaning. Pain thudded, but the voices drew him back to reality – he wanted to come. The stars were lovely, but he longed for the contact.

“Are you still here then, lass?”

“I wanted to ensure that he was not alone when he awoke. He spent too much time alone.”

“Ah yes. A pity it couldn’t have been different. But he’s back with us. I’m sure that you and the others are doin’ him a world of good.” A pause, and “And how are you?”

“Better, now that he’s better.”

“That he is.” There was soft whoosh of a seat gaining an occupant.

“He did not want to leave me. When we parted, just before he was hurt, he was anxious about leaving me alone.” There was a quiet moment.

“Ah, but that’s not your fault.”

“I should have gone with him.”

“Because if you had, he wouldn’t ‘ave gotten hurt?”

“There is a good chance.”

“And you could've been hurt as well.”

“In all honestly, that does not make me feel better.”

“Aye, I suppose it wouldn’t.” There was a sigh. “But you know, there’s nothing to be done about it now. You know he’s not offerin’ you any blame.”

“He would not.”

“Just remember that. He’ll bear you no ill will. It was his choice to go alone, so more than likely, he’ll just blame himself for what happened.”

A soft sigh. “He is that way. I wish…”

“If wishes were horses… ah, nevermind.”

He wondered if that strange pirate had a similar expression and he wondered what the phrase might sound like. What happened to that pirate? He couldn't remember.

It seemed that everything had gone to hell on him. He’d made poor choices, that was certain. So stupid—getting shot and climbing all that way – and he lost something – something important. And he remembered the explosion of the station – and the others…

“Rodney?” the voice sounded concerned.

“He’s waking. Are you there, Rodney? Come on now. Just open your eyes for a peek. Just want to see how you’re doin’.”

Someone touched his arm. It was warm – it was comforting. He realized that he was warm again, and it was a wonderful sensation.

“Rodney? You there, lad?”

He wanted to answer, but he was so tired.

“Apparently, he wishes to sleep still.” There was a smile in the voice.

“So it seems. Well, we’ll let him be for a bit longer. You hear that, Rodney?”

“We will wait for you, Rodney.”

“Yes, lad. I’ll let it go for now, but next time you’re gonna do what I ask.”

There was a little laugh, and it made him feel good to hear it. “Do you honestly believe he will do as you ask him?”

A chuckle. “Ach, a man can dream.”

And he slept again, his dreams full of stars and warm conversations.

 

PART 20: JELLO CUPS

“Hey?” a voice hissed. “You… you awake?” The voice was just barely familiar. Someone he’d met somewhere… but where? Not sure… nope…. Not entirely sure.

“Rodney… you awake, huh?” It was someone was entirely too peppy to be part of the expedition. “I think you’re awake… are you? ‘Cause I’m tired of talking to myself. Can you wake up? Come on…” the voice took on a whine.

But Rodney was still tired. He ached. He just wanted to sleep.

“Aw…” the voice sighed.

Then something struck him with a CLOP, right in the middle of his forehead. Eyes shot open, and Rodney stared, blurrily, at the ceiling of the infirmary. “What… what was that?” he groaned.

“You’re awake! Great!” the voice proclaimed in a loud whisper. “Hey! How you feelin’?”

His side hurt. He felt all musty and fuzzy. He ran his tongue over his teeth as he looked around, first to his right, noting an empty bed – its blankets all mussed about. He turned to the left and spotted Ronon, splayed out and asleep in a chair beside him -- his mop of hair at eye level.

Must be nice to never have to comb it, Rodney mused. That’s why he kept his own hair short – just swipe with the comb and he was done.

He paused, not sure what to make of the situation. The voice hadn’t sounded like Ronon’s.

“Hey! Don’t wake him up!”

Rodney lifted his gaze, taking in the speaker -- the occupant of the other bed. It was that redheaded pirate. What was his name?

“It’s me… Rix! Rix Mills!”

“I know that!” Rodney’s voice came out a little rough. “What did you throw at me?”

“Oh… a jello cup.”

“You threw a jello cup at me.”

“Hey, it was empty! I wouldn’t dump a douser.”

“Why are people always throwing things at me?” Rodney asked with a despairing groan.

“I dunno. Maybe you make a good target?”

“It was a rhetorical question!”

Rodney squinted as his vision came clearer. The pirate was sitting up in the next bed, propped up by several pillows and a dinner tray sat before him.

“Do you know where I can get more of this?” Rix asked, pointing into an empty Jello container. “They cut me off at seven.”

McKay frowned at Rix’s getup. “What happened to your head?” he asked, finding his throat dry when put to the task.

“Oh…I hit it,” Rix responded, running a finger around the inside of the Jello cup, hoping for more. “Don’t remember much of that,” he stated as he frowned at the emptiness of the plastic container.

Rodney squinted at him. “What’s with the bandana on your head?”

“Bandana?” Rix said, stumbling slightly over the word – obviously, it was new to him. He gave the knot on the festive red cloth a tug as he gave up on the Jello cup. “Maria got it for me,” he said proudly. “She’s pretty. Not as pretty as Teyla, but awful nice.”

“Yeah…” Rodney responded, regarding the man narrowly. Jeez, I must be out of it.

“I told her that I didn’t like the way the bandage looked on my head, I mean – it was all white, and they cut my hair back a bit. Wasn’t nice to look at. So she found this to cover it up. Teyla found the black eye-patch. I like it. Carson says my sight should come back in that eye, but thought I should keep it covered until then.”

“Hey, how’d you manage to bean me with that jello cup if you have no depth perception?” McKay inquired.

Rix shrugged. “I had six tries,” he stated. “One of ‘em had to hit something.”

“My head!”

With a chagrinned look, Rix admitted. “I was kinda aiming for your chest – or anything. You make a good target. I figured I had a chance… eventually.”

Rodney looked about, finding empty jello cups surrounding him. He batted one to the ground, muttering, “Great… just great.”

Rix’s expression became bleak as he said, “But that’s just it, isn’t it? I don’t know what I’ll do if my sight doesn’t come back. I can’t be a pilot if I don’t have two working eyes.”

“Carson said it’ll come back?”

Rix nodded.

“Then it will,” Rodney snapped.

Relief washed over the Bogachiel, until he said, “I don’t even know where the Ironspot is.”

Rodney frowned as he tried to remember. The last time he’d seen it, the Ironspot had been situated, fixed but untested, in the gateship bay. “I take it, it’s not on the space station anymore?”

“Oh, the space station blew up. MAATAUW! Big explosion.” He stopped talking suddenly, aware that his exclamation may have awakened the Satedan. He let out a sigh of relief as Ronon continued to slumber.

“Ah yes. How could I forget? And the Ironspot?” Rodney asked. “It… was operational? Yes, yes… of course it was. I fixed it.”

“Oh yeah, I flew it right off. ‘Course, it was Teyla who flew it afterward.”

“Teyla flew the Ironspot? How…”

“Oh, she’s smart as a sido. She even used the crane. I think I love her,” Rix admitted, his face going all soft in contemplation of the Athosian.

“Oh….okay,” Rodney returned with trepidation.

Rix pointed to the eye patch and said again, “She gave me this!”

McKay gave a lopsided grin, imagining how Teyla might accept this pirate admirer. “The eye-patch, the bandana…. It’s all very fitting,” McKay told him. “Yeah, you have a good look going. All you need now is a parrot.”

“A parrot?”

“A bird. A talking bird that repeats everything.”

“Repeats everything?”

“Yeah. You’ll need that, and a peg-leg or a hook.”

“Really?” Rix frowned, wondering about this statement.

As Rix pondered, Rodney regarded Ronon again, seeing that the man appeared well. Rodney tried to remember about the others. He could half-recall hearing them speak, but it could have been just his drugged mind making up scenarios. He frowned, wondering about that. His mind, after all, was quite active and capable of offering him exactly what he wanted.

He cleared his throat and asked, “Teyla, so… she’s okay?”

“Oh, she’s fine. She’s better than fine. She sure is pretty!”

“And the colonel?” Rodney went on. “Have you seen him?”

“You mean ‘John’?”

“Yeah,” Rodney responded.

“Oh, sure. He’s fine,” Rix brushed off the question. “He’s been here a lot. At least one of your friends is always here.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Didja know Ronon got into Zeno’s spacesuit?”

“Spacesuit? Him?” Rodney said, surprise in his voice.

“Yeah. Went outside the ship and everything.”

“When? Why?”

“To get you out of that dome. You locked yourself up good. Yeah, I don’t think he liked doing it though.”

“Huh, imagine that.”

“Carson comes ‘round here a lot. He’s hard to understand sometimes. Talks funny, like a rook in a cote, you know?”

“Yeah…” McKay responded, not wanting to know.

“Been other folks, too. I can’t keep track. I’ve been sleeping a lot.” He touched his head. “I hit my head. Did I tell you that?”

“Yes, you did,” McKay replied unpleasantly, and then added with false casualness, “So, we all made it home safely.”

“Well, there’s you and me that got tangled.” Rix went silent for a moment. “But, Wortley and Zeno…” he said their names softly. “They didn’t make it.”

Rodney tried to remember. The name ‘Zeno’ was familiar, but 'Wortley' was lost on him. He’d always been horrible with names, and this just proved the fact. Zeno, he recalled suddenly, wasn’t that great a guy. And if Wortley was the woman who’d shot him (and what kind of name was 'Wortley' for a woman?) … well, she wasn’t nice at all.

Rix opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it instantly as Ronon made a grumbling sound and tried to rearrange himself on the too-small chair. Mills sunk into his pillows, looking warily at the big man until he settled again.

Once he was sure that Dex wasn’t going to open his eyes, Rix whispered, “Don’t wake him.”

“Why not?”

“He scares me.”

“Ronon?” McKay returned, ignoring the fact that the man’s face twitched at the sound of his name.

“He doesn’t like me,” Rix said.

Rodney turned his head slowly, looking to the empty bed on his right, and swiveling back to take in the uncomfortable looking Sadetan, slumped down in a chair that was far too small for him.

Rix went on, “He’s guarding me…”

“If he was guarding you, he’d be awake.”

“I don’t know.”

“There’s probably a guard outside the door if that makes you feel better.”

“He wanted to kill me.”

“Aw, he’s a pushover.”

“Pushover?” Ronon growled and he sat up stiffly, rubbing his head as he turned to McKay.

“Ah… pushover… it means… you like to push things over… a lot…” McKay backpedaled.

Rix nodded, as if he knew this, and Ronon just gave Rix a narrow look, but quickly returned to McKay. “You’re awake.”

“Yes, yes… awake. That’s evident, isn’t it?” McKay snapped, trying to cross his arms over his chest, but getting tangled in the IV lines.

“Good to see that,” Ronon stated. He frowned, not knowing what to say next. He glanced to Rix, wondering of the talkative pirate would fill the gap, but the Bogachiel had leaned back in his pillows and was apparently feigning sleep to avoid any confrontation with the Satedan. Ronon chuckled softly.

“So you find this awful funny, do you?” McKay groused as he gave up and let his arms drop beside him.

The comment brought Ronon’s attention back to McKay, seeing how pale the man was, noting the tightness of his expression. IV bags still hung around the man’s bed.

There’d been a commotion upon their return. McKay had been taken away at first to be worked on by Beckett and his crew, then brought to this bed. Beckett had spent a lot of time fretting over things around McKay’s bedside. Ronon didn’t understand any of the terms that were thrown around. He just felt the palpable fear that clung to this space for too long.

The fear eased – every time Beckett came back and checked on McKay, the concern seemed to lessen, until this calmness descended. Then, Beckett said, “He’s gonna be fine. Just a matter of time ‘til he wakes.”

But the monitors still monitored, and the IV’s still dripped their concoctions into McKay to make him ‘better’. Ronon hated the whole set up – but he had to admit, he liked the results, and he had great admiration for the doctor.

“I asked you if you thought this was funny?” McKay asked again, pettishly.

“Funny? Not really,” Dex responded truthfully. Even Rix had scared him, when Beckett said that they might need to drill into the man’s skull if there were further sign of brain swelling – but that seemed to right itself, and Rix had been sleeping and waking for the past day. He often awoke in a panic, not knowing where he was or how he got there.

In all, it hadn’t been a good time for any of them. “Not funny at all,” Ronon repeated.

McKay seemed to relax a little, grimacing as he tried to get comfortable.

Ronon’s forehead creased as he realized something. “Why do you have all those jello cups all…”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” McKay said, giving one of the cups a kick. He grimaced at the movement, and swore softly under his breath.

“Feel like shit, huh?” Ronon asked, because he didn’t know what else to say.

“Well, yes! I’m not feeling great.” McKay rustled about, making faces as he failed to find a comfortable position, only making matters worse. He sucked in a breath and groaned, then raised his gaze to meet Ronon’s, asking hopefully, “Think I can get some of the good drugs?”

Ronon pressed himself upright, looking happy to have something to do – other than being forced to just sit and converse. “I’ll get Beckett,” he declared.

“Hey, are Teyla and the colonel are okay?” Rodney asked quickly, needing to verify the information – because Rix could be wrong – you know, head wound and everything.

“Yeah, they’re fine,” Ronon confirmed. He stood a moment longer, meeting Rodney’s gaze to ensure McKay had heard him. “We’re fine.” Then he turned and sauntered off to find someone.

“Think you can find me some jello, too?” McKay called after him. “Some cups with jello actually in them?”

Ronon kept moving, making no sign that he’d heard.

Rodney was about to repeat his request when he heard Sheppard call out, “Look who’s up!” as he strode into the room.

A grin lit the colonel’s face as he moved past the mostly empty beds. The only other patient was Cpl. Randal, asleep and sporting a long cast on one leg.

Sheppard passed Ronon on his way through the infirmary, and the two exchanged a glance, before Sheppard continued on his way toward Rodney. Ronon went in search of someone to harass.

“Colonel,” McKay declared, hiding a yawn. “It’s a bit past your bedtime, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, well,” Sheppard said as he sat on the empty bed at Rodney’s right. “Figured I’d check up on you. How’s it going?”

Rodney directed a thumb in the direction Ronon had disappeared. “Ronon’s getting the drugs,” he responded.

“Gotcha. And, ah, what’s with the empty jello cups?”

“Would you forget about the jello? One-eyed Pete was using me for target practice!” McKay sniped as he kicked a couple more cups off the bed.

Sheppard smiled then, a little wickedly, as he leaned forward and snagged something from the little bedside table. “If you’re going to get strung out, then you won’t be wanting to see this, I guess.” He held up a device.

“A laptop,” Rodney confirmed, annoyed.

“Your laptop,” Sheppard said, handing it over.

With a curious expression, Rodney reached out one hand to grasp the computer, surprised at how heavy it felt. His arm had no strength.

“Careful,” Sheppard chided. “You don’t want to drop this one.”

“It’s not mine,” McKay shot back, pulling it into his lap. “Mine had black stuff on this side, and the cover was scratched to hell.”

Sheppard didn’t want to think of what else had been on the laptop when they retrieved it. “We had to clone your last one. You really should play nicer with your toys. We’re going to have to take them away from you if you don’t treat them better.”

Rodney frowned, turning the new laptop over in his hand, not understanding. His expression fell as he remembered dropping it… he’d dropped it down that shaft, the central core… he couldn’t hold onto it and climb.

Then it dawned on him. He lifted his gaze, his face framed with a silly smile. “The data from the supernova? Is it here? Did you save it? Is it verifiable? Is it all here?”

“How the hell should I know?” Sheppard retorted as he stretched out on the spare bed.

Rodney smiled, and cracked open the computer, booting it up as he leaned back in his bed. He yawned, widely. As he pulled up the data, Rodney grinned and glanced to Sheppard. “Oh, this is good…”

John yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth, as he watched McKay fiddle with the laptop, tip-tapping his way through the supernova. The physicist was almost salivating.

“Incredible,” Rodney said in a hushed voice. “Amazing!” He studied the data a moment then lifted his head, explaining an excited, “OH! I just remembered!”

“What?”

“The… the… ZPM?” McKay moved one hand animatedly as held the laptop in place.

“Oh yeah… that.” Sheppard grimaced a bit. “Not much power left in it,” he explained. “Pretty near depleted.”

“Oh…” the word had a deflated quality to it this time. "Seems that's always the case."

“That space station was on its last legs. It wouldn’t have lasted too much longer. Might be enough power left on the thing to run a couple toasters.”

“Oh,” Rodney said again, and turned back to the laptop, looking tired and spent.

“Still,” Sheppard added. “I like toast. I’m sure we could use a lot of toast around here.”

“Hmmph,” McKay muttered, turning his attention back to the display. “I take it, the entire science staff has been over this information already, right?”

“Nope,” Sheppard said, popping the word as he spoke it. “Cloned it and left it to you.”

That brought the smile back to the scientist as he settled in with the laptop, data scrolling over the screen, lighting his face. “You think…” he started, and then paused to yawn, “you think the reason Rix was so concerned about this data was because of their pirating activities?”

Sheppard cocked his head, giving the sleeping Bogachiel a glance. “Yeah, probably thought that the station recorded their comings and goings. Might have caught them sailing their schooners into port with their Jolly Rodger flying, lowerin’ their mainsails, and toting in their chests full of doubloons.”

McKay nodded, closed his eyes for a moment, and then fluttered them open again. “Don’t think it captured any of that. The system was too concerned with recording the supernova data to be detailing what was going on at the docks and under decks.”

“I wonder how much stuff they had piled up in that room,” Sheppard contemplated, wishing he’d had a chance to see the treasure room. He’d been there when the cache on PX1-H0H was found, and the boys in the science labs were still going through the crystals and devices that were secreted there – the gold and jewels from that previous treasure trove were kept under lock-and-key somewhere in the city, in case such booty was ever needed in a trade.

“Yeah,” McKay said with a wide yawn. “Wish I’d had the time to check it out. Too bad you weren’t able to get the loot out before you got the station blown up.”

“What? Me?” Sheppard exclaimed.

“You could have calmed down Warty.”

“Wortley… and you’re the one who trapped her in an airless compartment.”

“Oh… yeah… I guess I did do that.” His head dipped and bounced back up, bobblehead-like. “Still, too bad, huh?”

Eyes narrowed, as Rodney watched the information flash past. Minutes passed, and slowly the eyes closed, fingers relaxed.

By the time Ronon came back with a rumpled-looking Beckett and a cup of jello in each hand, Rodney’s chin was on his chest and his hands were at his side.

Sheppard stood, and relieved Rodney of the laptop. He’d take it back to Rodney’s quarters as an incentive to get better quickly. Plus, it could always be used to bribe the scientist into behaving himself if he offered Beckett any trouble – be a good boy, and we’ll bring it back.

“He was awake and talking?” Beckett verified as he took the chair by the bedside, and took Rodney’s blood pressure one more time.

“Yeah,” Ronon told him, as he dumped the jellos on Rix’s handy dinner tray. “Talked a lot.”

Beckett made a satisfied sound as he took his reading. And he gave Rodney a little pat on the arm as he released the cuff. “Good lad, Rodney,” he said softly. The doctor checked on the IV’s, adjusting them, humming.

“So,” Sheppard tried. “It’s all good?”

“Aye, it looks like he’s gonna be just fine.” Carson cocked his head and added, “So, now that you know that, you boys can go on to bed now. No need to be hangin’ around here all night. He’s seen you.”

“I’ll stay,” Sheppard volunteered, getting comfortable on the bed. “Ronon, your shift’s over. Might as well head to your quarters.”

Ronon stretched his shoulders, shrugging one and then the other. “Yeah, probably should. Teyla will be back in the morning,” he reminded Sheppard.

“Yeah, we’ll double team him,” Sheppard replied. “So you might as well scram.”

Ronon nodded and pressed a hand to McKay’s shoulder before he turned, lumbering out of the room without another word.

Beckett watched Sheppard for a moment longer, considering dismissing the colonel as well, but thought better of it. “See you in the mornin’,” he declared and turned back to his room. He passed Claire, the nurse on duty, as he moved through the infirmary.

He realized that Ronon could have just as easily summoned her instead of getting him out of bed, and he chuckled at Ronon’s single-mindedness.

Claire gave him a curious look, looking as if she wanted to ask about his well-being. He waved her off and she returned to her book.

Meanwhile, Sheppard stowed the laptop in the table. He figured a sick man deserved something to brighten his day. On the other side of the bed, one green eye opened and Rix stared back at him.

“So…” Mills started softly. “When’s Teyla getting here? Oooo! Jello!”

Sheppard shook his head, chuckling softly. “Go to sleep, Rix,” he ordered and decided to get some sleep himself.

 

PART 21: WEASEL

“Hey,” Sheppard called as he caught up to McKay in the hallway.

“Hey, yourself,” McKay returned with a smile that soon dropped to a frown. “Aren’t you coming along to check out the Ironspot?” He gestured to Sheppard’s off duty attire.

“Didn’t Beckett want you to stay in your quarters for the next few days?”

“Well yes… but…”

“You had your laptop to play with and everything.”

McKay harrumphed and stated, “They have a team working at the Ironspot. I thought I could provide some valuable insight into how the systems operated together. After all, I’ve already been through the ship. I’m sure my knowledge will prove to be a valuable asset. I’ll just offer advice. No need to exert myself.” He smiled smugly.

“Yeah, I can see that happening,” Sheppard responded, watching his friend.

“I mean, it’s not that much different from just sitting in my room, right?”

“Right. Because you wouldn’t be resting there either.”

McKay looked perplexed. “There’s so much to do.”

“But you shouldn’t be on your feet and you shouldn’t be crawling under consoles or poking around at those crystals.”

“I’ll find a place to sit and… supervise.”

“I’m sure they’ll love that.”

McKay was looking much better. He’d done well in his recovery from the near-exsanguination. The wound was healing and a slight infection was quickly quenched, but he was still a little pale and wobbly.

He should have been in bed, being careful of his wound, keeping still. But, the infirmary would only hold him for so long, and the marvels of the supernova data could wait. Other scientists were running their hands over the Ironspot and were getting ahead of him in the knowledge learned from the hybridization. The physicist could hardly let that happen.

“Since I am the only person who’s worked on the system previously, it’s only logical that I add my knowledge. Obviously there are things I know that they haven’t yet discovered.” McKay paused, regarding Sheppard’s expression. 

The colonel knew something he didn’t.

Rodney contemplated, and then damned himself for not thinking of it sooner. “Rix…” he finally stated. “They’re sending Rix out there to offer some help, aren’t they?”

Sheppard sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, he is the pilot for that ship and knows what all the controls do. They considered sending Teyla, too, since she’d flown the ship, but she figured Rix could handle it.”

“Oh.” Looking a little crestfallen, Rodney leaned one shoulder against the wall and sighed. “So… he managed to weasel his way out there already.”

“His eyesight cleared up. Seems he recovered okay.”

“Great,” McKay sighed, looking disheartened. The paleness that plagued him seemed to be back, along with the horrible weariness. “Great,” he said again, then with a sigh added, “Did he show them any surprises?”

“Yeah, a surprise or two.” Sheppard chuckled, and let McKay know, “Your boys found a secret compartment at the back of the Ironspot, loaded with …plunder.”

To that, McKay snorted, and winced at the movement. “What? The little sneak was smart enough to put away some of the booty for himself?”

Sheppard shrugged. “Looks like it. There was gold, sparkly things, and some Ancient Tech.”

“Really?” McKay’s eyes gleamed at that thought. “So some of it was saved? It all didn’t go MAATAUW with the space station?”

Sheppard gave him a strange look at the use of onomatopoeia, but went on, “Looked like Rix had been stashing away bits and pieces for a while. Did you know that those three people were on that station for almost a year, guarding that treasure?”

“A year?” McKay echoed as he leaned.

“Yeah, kind of a crappy assignment.”

“No wonder they wanted to find a way off that place.” McKay looked unsettled as he stated, “They had nothing to eat but tava meal?”

“They had other stuff at first, but it ran out over time. Whoever left them there as guards didn’t plan ahead.”

“Or just didn’t care about who they left behind.”

“Apparently,” Sheppard went on, “those three came up with a plan for us to fix their ship. Rix and Zeno kept their eyes on us while Wortley guarded the treasure. Then, after we’d left, they’d empty the treasure trove and take off before the rest of the Bogachiel found out.”

McKay nodded. “And Rix, looking out for himself, managed to secret away a cache of his own. Hmmm. Not as dumb as he seems.”

“Yeah…about that.” Sheppard looked uncertain, sucking at his teeth a moment.

“Go on…” McKay said impatiently, fiddling a hand at him. “What?”

Sheppard continued, somewhat abashedly, “Zelenka and your boys wanted to cart the spoils away for study, but Lorne thought it would be advantageous to leave it where it was, and mess with Rix when he got out there. You know, see how much Rix knew about the cache by gauging his reaction when it was revealed. Lorne wanted Zelenka’s guys to pretend to find the compartment and open it, acting all innocent and surprised.”

McKay frowned, seeming to press more of his weight against the hallway. “Why do I feel I’m not going to like the rest of this story?”

Sheppard sighed, jamming his hands into his pockets. “Lorne and his guys brought Rix out there. They got him on the ship and… the next thing he knew, Lorne was waking up in the grass with Zelenka’s head on his chest.”

“What?”

“They were all out of it. There was about six people altogether, not many. Guess they wanted to keep Rix’s ‘visit’ on the QT.”

“Wait a minute… wait a minute. Everyone was knocked out?” McKay’s expression fell. “The Ironspot…”

“Gone,” Sheppard said sadly. “They don’t know how he did it, but a couple minutes after Rix got on that ship, he must have set off something.”

“And took the ship.”

“Yeah. Dialed the Gate and was gone.”

McKay looked sorrowful, “So… we lost a valuable piece of technology.”

“Yeah, but it was butt ugly.”

“Still, think of everything we could have learned!”

“Butt… Ugly. Besides, McKay, you got all that knowledge about it locked up in that massive brain of yours, and Zelenka and the rest learned a thing or two.”

McKay grimaced, then asked, “And … who’s idea was it to allow Rix full access to the ship? I’d rather doubt that Lorne did this on his own.”

It was Sheppard’s turn to make a face. “Okay, he came to Weir and me. We figured it wouldn’t hurt anything. He seemed harmless, didn't he?”

“Right. Why weren’t you included in the pirate soirée?”

“Hey! I was catching up on sleep after watching your sorry ass recover in the infirmary. I figured Lorne could handle it.”

“Yeah,” McKay responded, giving Sheppard an annoyed look.

“It was just dumb luck,” Sheppard concluded. “Who would have figured that the little weasel would have a trick like that up his sleeve?”

With a glare, McKay told him, “Would have been nice to know about the device that… hello? …knocked everyone unconscious without affecting the pilot?”

“Yeah, that would have been good,” Sheppard agreed. “Too bad you didn’t figure it out when you were looking things over.”

“I was busy!” McKay complained. “I was just trying to figure out how everything worked together. How many days have Zelenka and the rest had it?”

“Still,” Sheppard said. “You should’ve figured it out.”

McKay gave him a calculated look. “I don’t know whether I should take that as a compliment or as a criticism.”

“Criticism,” Sheppard clarified.

“Great.” McKay tried to look annoyed, but after a moment, he shook his head and chuckled. “Pirates…” 

“Space pirates,” Sheppard reiterated. “Go figure.”

“What else did he make off with? The ZPM wasn’t still on the ship?! I mean, nearly depleted or not, it’s worth something!” McKay’s voice rose and a Marine who was striding through the hallway paused to see who had shouted. Seeing it was McKay with Sheppard, he just nodded and kept going.

“We got it,” Sheppard quickly quelled. “He got his loot, the equipment your guys were using on the ship and some of the Marines’ gear..”

“Figures.” McKay made a face and asked, “So the equipment that he took, does it include the data that Zelenka and the others were able to collect from the ship.”

“Yeah… most of it. They’re trying to recreate the info from memory.”

“Wonderful.” McKay shook his head, evaporating dreams of shielding and other marvels from the Ironspot.

“Oh, and he also got someone’s lunch cooler and most of their MREs. Didn’t take the Country Captain Chicken.”

“Not as dumb as he seemed.”

“Nope. Oh, he pocketed a few things from the infirmary, too. And maybe picked up a scanner or two. We’ll need to do an inventory.”

“Yeah,” McKay responded with an annoyed look.

“At least you still have your laptop. That’s probably due to my quick thinking ‘cause I stashed it in your room.”

“Thanks, for that,” McKay snipped.

“Don’t mention it.” Sheppard chuckled.

Rodney seemed to understand what had just been said, and restated genuinely, “I appreciate it.”

Sheppard went on, “When Ronon found out about Rix, he thought it was pretty amusing Teyla, I don’t know… one moment she seemed ‘relieved’ and the next she seemed a bit sad.”

“Why do think that was? Maybe Rix and Teyla had a little something going on?”

“Don’t…” Sheppard’s voice took on a harsh edge. “Don’t even think it!”

That got a chuckle out of Rodney, which fell into a frown as he pulled at his offworld uniform. “Well, I guess it makes no sense to go check out the site then.”

“Not unless you want to continue Lorne’s humiliation.”

McKay sparked a moment at the thought, but the loss of the Ironspot seemed to take something out of him, and he continued to lean against the wall.

“I had an idea,” Sheppard said.

“Oh,” McKay responded. “Should I alert someone?”

Sheppard just tipped his head, giving McKay a glare. “Ronon was talking about heading to the mainland tonight. I was thinking about giving him a lift.”

Rodney frowned. “It’s just about dusk on the mainland. Maybe you should tell the big guy to wait until tomorrow.”

With a shrug, Sheppard said, “He just wanted to get outside for a while, you know, feel dirt beneath his feet and all that. Teyla was coming, too.”

“Oh.”

“I was headed to the mess to round up some food. I figured we’d just head to the mainland, have some snacks and sit back for a while -- watch the stars come out. You coming?”

Rodney pondered a moment, his eyes taking on a distant look, and then he declared, “You’re bringing food? I could eat.”

Sheppard chuckled at that, and waited as Rodney shoved himself off the wall and put himself in motion.

The colonel walked alongside the astrophysicist. John pulled his hands from his pockets and let them rest at his side, as Rodney took his measured pace down the hallway.

“I hear the cook is experimenting with tava meal,” Sheppard said offhand as they walked.

“Don’t even kid about that,” McKay grumbled, and Sheppard smiled at the reaction. Seeing the smirk, McKay added, “By the way, did anyone fix the DHD on Jumper 5, because…”

“Let it go, McKay,” Sheppard growled, “let’s pack up some chow and meet up with the others. This time of day there’s probably some sort of snacks set up in the mess.”

“Yeah, you’re just hoping they have Little Smokies,” McKay commented.

Sheppard just looked at McKay in surprise. They kept walking along the corridors of Atlantis, heading toward the mess hall with high hopes, and then onward to the jumper, the mainland and the stars.

 

Meanwhile, far from Atlantis, the Ironspot wended its way among the stars, heading toward a new hideaway.

Its pilot chucked as he slurped up a jello. Blue, he decided, was definitely his favorite flavor. Much better than tava meal, in any case, and he would miss gelatin treats now that he’d finished the last one.

Still, he glanced toward the pile of MREs, thinking that he had many good meals ahead. He was never going to get stuck with only tava to eat – never again. He’d also been able to secure a significant supply of water. No more recycled stuff!

He grinned has his eyes lit upon the item that was wedged between a couple of gauges. He’d found it on the floor after he'd carefully dragged out the occupants. It had been startled for a moment – he'd thought it was a deadly bloodsucking furred leach, but it ended up being only one of Ronon’s lost dreadlocks. He didn’t really know why he kept it, but he did so nonetheless.

He was rather sad that he hadn’t managed to get a lock of hair from a certain someone, but he still had the eye patch, wearing it wrapped around his wrist now. It looked pretty good, he had to admit, and it was a lovely token to remember her by.

Teyla sure was pretty.

He’d miss Zeno and Wortley – it was hard not to create attachments to people, he decided. He’d miss Teyla too, even John, Rodney and Carson. Ronon – well – the man was terrifying, but there was something decent about him…

He piloted the Ironspot onward, adjusting the bandana, liking the look of it, and wondered where he’d find a talking bird.

 

On the other side of the galaxy, a brownish ball, with a strange shape and white stitching down one side, continued its straight and unhindered flight among the stars. 

THE END!


End file.
